Prompt: Increasing the price of petrol is the best way to solve growing traffic and pollution problems. To what extend do you agree or disagree? What other measures do you think might be effective?

With the growing number of private vehicles, there is an increasing concern about traffic congestion and pollution problems resulting from cars. Some believe that increasing the price of petrol is the most effective way to reduce those problems. However, I am not convinced that making the petrol price higher is the best solution. Ċ To begin with, it is undeniable that imposing a high fuel price may reduce the number of private car users. Since higher cost of petrol may increase the financial burden of car users, they may switch to cheaper transportation such as trains and buses. With lesser cars on the road, the congestion problem can be alleviated. Ċ However, increasing fuel price may not be the best method to the problems. As there are many people think that the public transportation system is underdeveloped. For instance, the schedule of buses in some locations is limited and there may only have one bus per hour. By considering the convenience of driving, people still prefer driving even though the cost is increased. Ċ There are other solution that are considered to be effective. Firstly, government should emphasize on developing a better transportation system. Secondly, increasing the parking cost can also help control the cars in the city. A better system along with increased cost of parking and fuel would definitely deter people from using private vehicles. Ċ To conclude, the price of the petrol is not the fundamental factor that affects the preference of driving but the inconvenience of public transportation system is. Therefore, the government should focus on the primary cause.