IELTS Writing Task 2 with sample answer.
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
The rising levels of congestion and air pollution found in most of the world cities can be attributed directly to the rapidly increasing number of private cars in use. In order to reverse this decline in the quality of life in cities, attempts must be made to encourage people to use their cars less and public transport more.
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
Sample Answer:
Economic growth is a double-edged sword. As economic growth tends to increase demand, an economy may ultimately become the victim of its prosperity since as congestion rises, so it begins to hamper growth. This is the most obvious way in which transport impacts on growth in cities around the world. In the case, public transport would be a handy tool to combat against traffic congestion.
For a start, according to Maslow human being are motivated to accomplish certain needs. When one need is entertained a man seeks to satisfy next one, and so on. In the modern society, people prone to have cars first after satisfying their basic needs. Thereby, the number of cars on cities’ roads that cause terrible traffic congestion. This results in delays and unreliability and it severely affects the productivity of business. City dwellers find themselves stuck in traffic jam when they should be at their workplaces. On the top of that traffic jam decreases their competence to innovate, and explore and access new markets and resources. A survey, conducted by the British Chambers of Commerce, reveals the cost of congestion is £17,350 per business. On the top of that, traffic jam is also one of the major sources of increased CO2 emissions from transport.
However, in the given situation, using public transport is the silver bullet to quell the traffic jam. Public transports offer a very cost effective approach to curb traffic congestion and support productive and efficient urban labour markets. Public transports, such as buses, are flexible, have more capacity, and still need less space on the roads. Public transport, therefore, can reduce the private cars significantly. Tyne and Wear, Metropolitan County in England, here is a good example. The metro system of the county is estimated to eliminate 40,000 cars journeys from the roads.
To wrap up, congestion is no doubt a curse to city life. On the one hand, it hindrances the economic growth and contributes to environment pollution on the other hand. To improve the condition, we should use public transports and encourage others to do so.