Certain people are of the opinion that the most effective way to tackle the menace of air pollution in cities is to hike the cost of vehicle fuel, while others think that varied measures should be implemented. I tend to agree with the latter opinion.
On the one hand, the increase in the cost of petrol and diesel seems to be an efficient way to decrease air pollution. However, this is a blanket initiative and may have its adverse side effects. Why is that? While it may increase air quality, it will also impact essential logistics and services. For example, even cardinal services like ambulances and firefighting vehicles will bear the consequences of the price hike. Moreover, it will drastically raise the prices of goods as transport vehicles will also be affected.
On the other hand, there are other effective ways to counter the challenge of air contamination. It can be considered a great idea if only those fancy cars are taxed more that consume a large amount of fossil fuels for the same mileage that is covered by normal cars in less juice. Furthermore, the government can mandate that vehicles should be used for only 3 days in a week, with providing options for carpool and public transport. For example, people should either have the option to travel in bus or trains on weekends, or they will have to arrange their own shared private means of travel for more than two people on Sundays.
In my opinion, the tactics other than just increasing the cost of fuel can be more effective and economical when it comes to tackling the challenge of air pollution. This will not disrupt the essential day-to-day activities and the problem will still be solved.