ESSAY 4

Car ownership has increased so rapidly over the past thirty years that many 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?

The recent improvement in the economy of most countries in the world leads to higher number of people purchasing automobiles for their personal use. Luxurious vehicles are known to be some kind of status symbol in the developing countries due to the lack of awareness from the government to educate their citizen to put an emphasis on using public transportation. Some people believe that traffic in some capital cities, such as in Jakarta and Beijing, are no longer tolerable or, at least, anyone can admit that they are far from effective. However, there is still hope in forms of education and good city planning which will be discussed below.

People in developed countries are capable of using their education and logic to think that the road space will not be able to keep up with the buying power of a growing economy. To follow this, they know that building an effective and efficient public transportation system is crucial in determining the flow of traffic in cities and inter-cities. If people are allowed to buy vehicles without limitation, they will surely buy more than two or even three vehicles per household. Ultimately this will lead to traffic problems and there is no doubt that the main contributor of the traffic is the citizen itself (along with improper government ruling). I maintain that if the government is more capable of implementing some strategies to restrict the number of cars to be purchased, there will be less traffic in the city.

To be fair about the whole matter, one must consider the reason for people’s ambition to own cars in their household. As strange as it may seem, when someone owns a car, it can be a decisive and influential factor in determining how other people see that person. It raises the social status and what even more is that this new car owner will be more respected in many ways. This kind of motive is quite strong in the society of developing countries where success is primarily measured by the worldly belongings that one owns such as the size of the house and the brand of cars. Understanding this, it is apparent that people’s perspective on the definition of success needs to be changed and the only way to change how and what people think is by education.

The urgency to implement certain city regulations cannot be dismissed. The government, be it the governor or the mayor, should adopt some strategies that will work effectively to regulate the number of cars in particular time so that road traffic will not be too severe. Providing favorable public transportation is no doubt a must do and for this purpose, buses, underground services, and bike lanes can be some alternatives. It is important to note that although infrastructure is vital to the public and the public demands for it, sometimes it can cause an inevitable conflict. For example, in some regions where there is no longer empty land to create road space, some people have to be evicted from where they live and this kind of action will usually be opposed by the victimized public. However, this need of public transportation system is vital and even more so in the future, so all government plans and efforts toward this should be supported and are therefore justified.

To conclude, the solution to solve traffic problems (and to prevent people buying cars) lies in the willingness. These are the willingness of the public to adapt to public transportation, the willingness to let go the chance to improve their status by purchasing cars, and the willingness of the government to help create better city atmosphere.