Cars Ownership and Traffic Jam: Examples and Measures - [IELTS TASK 2]

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?

In several decades, the structure of society is becoming more complex than we can ever imagine. This phenomenon leads to the increasing of mobility of society. Consequently, the need of private car is booming. Moreover, many cities are suffering from 'one big traffic jam'. Regarding to these issues, I believe that the statements are true and government should take some measures to overcome this problem.

Looking at car ownership, developing countries experience high growth of sales of cars in recent years. Obviously, by the low growth of road construction, there will be worse traffic in big city, like Jakarta. In Jakarta, people everyday face traffic congestion on peak hours. Around the globe, the same situation happens in Beijing and Mexico City. By these examples, we may say that the rapid growth of car ownership leads to horrible traffic congestion.

If we take a look on the measures that government should make, I personally propose the measures that will give disincentive on buying a new car or an additional car. Logically, government may charge tax to the company so the price of the car will be higher. The alternative option is to tax the owner of the car, taxing for the initial car or for the additional car. In the other hand, government may regulate the price of gasoline higher so that the maintenance cost of having cars is relatively high. These kinds of effort will be disincentives for citizens on having cars.

To sum up, there are many proofs that the increase of car ownership has consequence on traffic congestion. To solve this problem, government may have three options, including charging tax on company, on the owner of car, and rising up the cost of maintenance of having cars. If this problem is not solved soon, this will seriously get worse year by year.

Kandrika, while you really offered a high level of understanding the prompt and you offered a possible solution to the problem. There was a clear lack of analysis regarding the solutions to the problem on your part. I am assuming that you do not own a car and that is why you came up with such a far-fetched solution to the traffic problem that cannot be implemented because it will not only destroy a whole industry that contributes to the growth of a nation (car manufacturing), but you also presented an idea that is next to impossible to implement without causing a riot in the streets because the government will be curtailing the rights of the people to own property and travel with freedom.

While I understand that you will be writing this under time constraints, the topic that was given to you is really a part of common culture discussions and daily news. The proper solution to the problem is not extra taxes on the people who own cars, rather, the government should develop more road infrastructures and alternative modes to private transportation instead. One of the commonly proposed solutions for the government to do is to build more trains, develop bike paths, and create a walking city where it becomes more convenient to walk rather than ride. Additional taxes on people will only cause more pressure on the already fragile income balancing act that the people do to meet their daily needs. The car is meant to help make their lives easier, not give them a harder time in performing their daily tasks and achieving their goals. By presenting a tax proposal, you will be doing exactly that.

Remember, the content of your essay needs to be ground in real life, with some possible real life applications whenever possible. In this instance, you failed to accomplish that. Raising gas prices just to stop people from using their cars will not work either. It will only add to the congestion in the streets because there will be a lack of public transport available to the riding public. Consider all possible options and consequences when you draft your essay responses. Sometimes, the most obvious solutions are not the ones that will get you the best scores.