Car Ownership Has Increased So Rapidly Over The Past Thirty Years That Cities Are Now One Big Traffic Jam | Band 8 IELTS Essay Sample
Car ownership has increased so rapidly over the past thirty years that any cities in the world are now ‘one big traffic jam’. How true do you think this statement is? What measures can governments take to discourage people from using their cars.
Here is a band 8 IELTS essay on this topic written by one of our students. Need help with IELTS writing? Get your IELTS essays, letters and reports corrected by me.
Band 8 IELTS essay sample
Technology has progressed at a swift rate especially in the automotive sector causing the car ownership to rise globally.
It has reached a level where the city roads are now full of cars causing massive traffic jams throughout the world. This essay will state why I believe that the increase in car ownerships have caused the cities to come to a standstill and how governments can discourage individuals from using their private cars.
The population in the world has been on a steady rise and with the rise in the population, the number of cars has also grown tremendously over the past 3 decades. In a family of 4, each person has their own car and with all of these cars simultaneously on the roads, traffic jams have increased substantially. Another reason for the growth of traffic jams is the lack of good infrastructure. For instance, the roads and highways in India are subpar in quality, size and are not well maintained throughout the year and this is one of the main hurdles in the smooth functioning of traffic.
However, there are a number of measures that the government can introduce to help solve the problem of traffic jams. Firstly, the governing body needs to introduce a law that restricts the number of cars on the road on any particular day. For instance, the Delhi government implemented the “odd/even” rule which helped in reducing the number of cars on the road by allowing only cars with odd numbers or even numbers to ply on the road on any particular day. Secondly, the government can improve infrastructure by widening the roads and carrying out maintenance to ensure smooth traffic operations.
In conclusion, I am in complete agreement with the argument that the rise in car ownership over the past 3 decades has caused traffic jams in most major cities of the world. However, governments can improve the situation by making public transport more reliable.
Band 7.5 IELTS essay sample
In the last few decades, there was a massive increase in the number of people owning cars. Some people argue that car ownership has worsened the traffic situation and enveloped all major cities in one big traffic jam. I fully agree with this observation. In this essay, I will discuss the measures that governments should take to discourage people from buying cars.
‘Rush hours’ is a commonly heard word amongst people living in urban cities. We can see every day that people either leave early to work or return late from work to avoid the traffic jam. Research conducted in London recently found that drivers spend approximately 227 hours each year in traffic and the city ranked eighth in the world for traffic gridlock. The main reason for this is the increase in car sales. This proves that the comfort and flexibility of having a car pale in comparison to its environmental ramifications.
It is vital for governments to administer laws and restrictions to control heavy traffic. The simplest solution could be increasing the number of public transport facilities and making it feasible at an affordable cost. Increasing tax rates for cars is another viable option because it will force many people to reconsider the decision of owning it. Additionally, creating a protocol on what types of cars can drive on a particular day or what colour of cars can go on roads on that day can be looked upon to reduce the traffic. For example, as per the law in Delhi, cars with even numbers drive on certain numbers and those with odd numbers drive on other days.
In conclusion, without the active intervention of the government in reducing traffic issues the cities will remain in gridlocks.
