One of the most common problems, found in a big city, is its traffic. No matter how effective of a transport system you make, eventually there is a traffic jam somewhere. There could be a number of reasons for this, for example, a road accident, nature’s meddling in the form of land slides and so on. Government should put great focus on this matter and I will be discussion two divided opinions on its take.
Firstly, let’s talk about the construction of trains and subway systems. These can be bullet trains or just general trains to travel from city to city, but they can end up reducing alot of traffic. Not only traffic, but they’re time efficient too, as they don’t have to stop on red lights or even be stuck in some sort of traffic as there are no cars on train tracks. They have fixed routes, which means no unnecessary detours or distractions on your way. You can rely on you train’s predicted timing to reach you destination on time, whereas on the other hand i you choose to travel by car or any other of your private vehicle, you might find yourself in an unexpected traffic or a simple road block which could add on minutes or even hours to your trip. Moreover, if people use this as their everyday transport to travel to their work or schools, they would become more punctual as they would have to catch their train everyday at the same time, as well as save money on the gas. One time investment on train travel cards is much better than that of paying for your car petrol every other day.
Another suggestion by a part of the public is to make the roads wider. This would indeed reduce the traffic as more cars and other vehicles would be able to go through at the same time. This could come in handy on busy days or specific busy hours of the day, but you could still find yourself stuck in a traffic caused by an accident, which would most probably take up most of the space on the road. Wider roads also means promoting the use of personal vehicles which means more gas is burnt and it adds to the pollution.
My personal view on this issue is that we should use public transport more hence I am more in favour in the investment of subway stations rather than roads being widened. Relying on subway means one would have to walk at least a few kilometres to go to the subway which should be a daily must for everyone. Travelling through a train gives you the perfect opportunity to walk everyday, and just a few minutes of walk could make a huge difference. If more people use the subway, there would be less cars on the road, leading to less accidents and traffic, and eventually lesser pollution aswell. Investing in the subway system is a win win situation either way.