Band 6+: Some people think that increasing the price of petrol is the best way to solve growing traffic and pollution problems. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Traffic congestion and environmental pollution is a major challenge for modern society. While congestion often disturbs physical and emotional well-being of many individuals, pollution harm the planet. When addressing these issues, many people find it easier to mitigate these offsets if the price of petroleum is spiking hiked. In my opinion, it is not the absolute solution to manage both heavy traffic and environmental degradation as there are alternative paths to explore.

It is not a simple procedure to raise the prices of petroleum in a country. It involves complex political and economic processes. Particularly in several economic supply-demand model, it often presents that petroleum price is inelastic meaning demand for petrol remains consistent regardless of the price. For this reason, consumer’s willingness to pay for expensive petrol will not be affected and traffic and environmental burdens will continue. Moreover, heavy traffic means that there are plenty of vehicles on the road. When consumer purchase vehicles, they usually consider the overall fixed price than the variable cost associated with. For example, maintenance and fuel price. Therefore, increasing the price of petrol alone would be inefficient solution to the matter.

Nevertheless, there are alternative paths to managing traffic congestion and environmental pollution. First, increased awareness and reliability of public transportation will sought to create more sustainable environment for the people and the planet. In contrast to private vehicles, public transportation can transport high capacity of passengers in a single unit, reducing the number of vehicles on road. In addition, modern public transportation are slowly transitioning to electric vehicles. For example, South Korea EV buses. As a result, it promotes sustainable and more resilient transportation for the future.

Overall, raising petroleum price is not the sole resolution to the offsets created by heavy use of private vehicles but it is crucial to explore alternative options such as public transport.