One of the main concerns for citizens of a large modern city is daily transportation. The transportation system of any city requires constant maintenance and up-grading, even though the expense is high. Should a city government devote a huge portion of its budge to the improvement of roads and highways, or to the improvement of public transportation? Both developments have merit, but I believe more dollars should be spend on constructing a highly efficient public transportation system.
First, a quite convenient public transportation will encourage more people to take it, and then dramatically decrease their motivation for purchasing cars. For instance, people always prefer a faster, more comfortable and economical method of transportation to meet their daily requirements. If we construct a highly efficient public transportation, such as a subway system, people can easily take it to any place in the city, no matter what weather condition it is and what time it is. Of course, many people like to enjoy this well-developed underground transportation system. In contrast, a slow public transportation will make more people feel frustrated and disappointed, and force them to consider buying a car. For example, my wife has to spend at least 1.5 hours on each way commute, which has brought many times discussion in my family: if we should buy a more car. On the other hand, more people owning cars will undoubtedly put more pressure on the city’s transportation, which will accordingly make the public transportation even worse.
Moreover, a good public transportation system will significantly cut down the traffic noise, reduce the car emissions, improve our city’s air quality and benefit all the people in the city. Cars are one of the main pollution sources in a city. If more and more people take public transportation, the number of moving cars in streets will hence tremendously