The Only Way To Reduce The Amount Of Traffic In Cities Is To Reduce The Need For People To Travel | Band 9 IELTS Essay Sample

The only way to reduce the amount of traffic in cities today is by reducing the need for people to travel from home to work, shopping and education. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

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Band 9 IELTS essay sample

Traffic congestion caused by automobiles has become a major issue in almost all cities all over the world. Some people opine that reducing the need for people to travel is the best way to reduce traffic congestion. In my opinion, this approach will certainly help; however, it has its downsides.

Thanks to advancements in technology, it is now possible for people to perform most tasks without having to step outside. For example, they can buy just about anything they need online. They can also pay bills online. In fact, many organizations already allow their employees to work from home. In future, as access to technology improves more and more businesses and establishments will offer the work from option. Likewise, many universities now offer their courses online. By simply encouraging more students to study online and more people to work from home, the government can reduce traffic and vehicular pollution to a great extent.

However, this approach does have its side effects. If people stop traveling, millions of drivers employed by the travel industry will lose their livelihood. This will have a massive impact on the economy. Any reduction in the amount of traveling will also reduce the demand for cars, motorbikes and buses. So, obviously, the automobile industry will be hit hard and people employed in this sector will lose their jobs. There are many more drawbacks. When people perform every activity online, there will be a dramatic decline in face to face interactions. Eventually, this will lead to many psychological and socio-cultural problems. For example, lack of interactions with others may trigger depression in some people. In other words, the disadvantages of reducing the need to travel will outweigh its advantages. Hence, in my opinion, a better solution is to build wider roads and create more job opportunities in the countryside. This will stop the migration of rural folks into urban areas and thus reduce the congestion in cities.

To conclude, eliminating the need the travel will certainly reduce traffic congestion everywhere; unfortunately, this move will create more problems than it solves.

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