You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
The first car appeared on British road in 1888. However, the year 2000 saw as many as 29 million vehicles on British roads. Alternative forms of transport should be encouraged and international laws should be introduced to control car ownership and use. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge and experience.
Write at least 250 words.

MODEL ANSWER:

The ever increasing number of cars is a much alarming situation as it causes many social, economic and environmental problems across the globe. Therefore, I agree that alternative modes of transportation should be encouraged and international laws should be propagated to curtail car ownership and use.

From the social perspective, the most crucial issue arises from the swelling car numbers is the bottleneck congestion, which we can see in cities such as Shanghai. When people face such problems, it elevates their stress and this often results in traffic violations and accidents. From the economic perspective, a considerable proportion of a family budget is outsourced for the purchase and maintenance of private automobiles. The issue is worse in case of families with personal cars for their members. From the environmental perspective, the more the
number of cars on the road, the more the carbon concentration in the atmosphere. This decreases the air quality, and in extreme cases, it is measured ‘hazardous’.

The aforementioned factors will naturally put pressure on any authority to find an alternative form of transport and to formulate stringent laws which are valid globally. I think, the governments should seriously think about other ways for commuting, without compromising the comfort and convenience of the passenger. For example, the public transport system should be made better by extending the distance covered and by making the services more frequent. Car pooling is another alternative, which should be encouraged especially among those who work under the same employer. To bring down the number of private cars on the roads, international laws such as levying hefty taxes on every new automobile purchase and road space rationing can be implemented.

If both alternative modes of transport and international laws are made practical, I think it can benefit the society, the economy and finally the environment. And if the existing situation is allowed to continue, the world might suffer seriously.