Prompt: Fare-free public transport Topic: The best way for government to solve the problem of traffic congestion is providing free public transport in 24 hours per day, and seven days a week. To what extent do you agree/disagree?

Fare-free public transport is often assumed as the best way of reducing car use and tackle congestion problems. In my view, I consider that might not be the best measure for some reasons mentioned below. Ċ On the one hand, free public transport program has little impact on car drivers' behavior. The behavior of motorists and the transport mode they choose depend little on public transport fares. Researchers found that when zero-fare public transports were applied, only a small number of people who previously traveled by car made the switch. Furthermore, a vast amount of passengers attracted by it tends to be cyclists and pedestrians rather than car users. This proved the ineffectiveness of the given policy and traffic congestion would stay unsolved. Ċ At the same time, the success of the free public transport movement also has a link to the quality of the service and city infrastructure. For example, in some parts of the world, commuter lines are overcrowded in rush hour. The low or adequate quality of city infrastructure could cause traffic delays and thus would makes more inconvenient to stay in public buses for a long time rather than private cars. Beside that, the quality of many public transport can not compete to the good points of cars and other vehicles. Comfort, reliability and cleanness are the motivating factors that make cars dominant over free bus service. Ċ In conclusion, free public transport initiative may not be effective for mitigating congestion issues on its own and combining multipronged approaches should be implemented by government to address traffic jams.