It is argued that the free, all-time provision of 24-hour public transport is the best solution to urban traffic jams. From my perspective, I disagree with this hypothesis.
One perspective favoring free public transport 24 hours a day is centered around greenhouse gas reduction. Advocates argue that with the significant growth of the population, leading to an increase in the desire for owning private cars and travel demand, there is an immense strain on the atmosphere as well as the environment due to the amount of carbon dioxide gases emitted from vehicles. A case in point is India, which has witnessed overpopulation in recent years, making this country one of the most polluted nations in the world owing to the large number of modes of transportation used by residents. Furthermore, they contend that inhabitants will receive great motivation to obey this strategy through free provision because humans tend to spend their money on the cheaper or free options. Hinging on this tendency helps advocates gain the best result from this solution. However, this stance fails to consider other aspects such as the burden on the national budget and workforce shortage.
Conversely, I firmly believe that providing free public transport 24 hours a day is a reductive approach and overlooks the broader benefits. To clarify, although residents are freely forthcoming with this solution, it will put pressure on the national budget because of the large amount of money needed for its operation. This, in turn, not only immerses strain on the country but also causes budget shortages to invest in other profitable projects. Instead, enhancing residential awareness about using vehicles effectively will be better, despite taking time, the fruition will be more long-lived and applicable. Furthermore, if free provision of 24-hour transport is encouraged, this non-profit service has to assure its workforce because low salaries are inevitable, not sparking the interest in employees, which makes it become a momentary solution. Otherwise, the intended benefits might be offset by increased reliance on less efficient options.
To recapitulate, while the argument for free supplementation of 24-hour public vehicles holds its own merit, a more holistic approach that includes residential awareness and maintains the national budget would likely be more effective.