It is largely known that using and promoting public transportation is beneficial for both environmental and societal life. On the other hand, some might suggest building more roads to help with these issues. At first sight, I found constructing new roads won’t be as practical as just increasing the number of public transportation vehicles. However, to dive deeper and better into this topic, it is essential to analyze both views.
Primarily, I feel closer to the idea of promotion and investment in public transportation by reason of how environmental friendly it is. Let’s say a bus can take up to 40 people. Those people might have chosen to travel with their personal vehicle. Which means 40 times more carbon emission. With this information in our minds, let’s look at it from a different perspective. Economically, public transportation became an income channel for lots of people at this age. Bus, tram, metro drivers… Also, people in the background such as system controllers, designers, cleaners… While discussing economic aspects, it is also worth noting that not everybody is capable of their own car. You can easily navigate yourself in the city with just a very little money with public transportation.
In the second place, as some suggest, more roads can be constructed. It can be beneficial for metropolitans such as Istanbul. It is an indeclinable fact that will help to decrease the density of traffic with bored drivers to search for new roads. However, I can’t imagine the pollution aspect of this act. In this scenario, all 40 people are on their own cars that causes 40 times more emission. Another fact is that, to build a new road, many trees are being cut down. We need to think about out future while constructing today’s world.
To conclude my words, I feel closer to investing more in public transportation both environmentally and economically reasons. But it is important to keep balance.