Reducing traffic congestion - what methods should be used?

Increased traffic has made the lives of people miserable as it has increased concerns among masses due
to a large number of accidents and injuries. Excessive traffic due to the increased number of vehicles
and lack of parking space has led to this situation in major cities around the world. It is an issue that
governments must address.

One approach that policy-makers could take is to introduce more legislation regulating the use of
private vehicles. In certain countries, for example, drivers are required to pay a toll once they cross the
boundary of the city center. In some cases, car drivers are also restricted to using one lane only, leaving
the other lanes for buses or taxis and paying fees for using the highways. Unfortunately, there is
evidence that neither of these measures has reduced traffic to any significant extent.

An alternative approach would be to make public transport more attractive to potential passengers.
According to a recent online research, it is inconvenience rather than cost which deters people from
using buses. Local authorities would therefore need to provide a much wider range of bus routes, and
run far more frequent services. Furthermore, building new underground stations and lines across the big
cities would make a significant change too.

In conclusion, an improved public transport system would certainly require considerable financial
investment, but in the long term, it might be a cheaper option than borrowing money to fund new road-
building projects. Also, the money collected from the legislation might as well come in help. This is the
strategy that I would recommend governments adopt.

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