Nowadays many people prefer to use their own cars to commute rather than buses and trains Why do you think this is happening What can the government do to change it

Recently, people’s preference for commuting by public transport has gradually diminished and turned into the use of private cars. This essay will mainly discuss two root causes and two main measures of the government to combat this crucial issue.

Two primary factors have been identified as a leading cause of this changing commuting fashion: the quality of transport and the counter-productive transport policy. The quality of public transports influences people’s preference for commuting by trains and buses. Naturally, people will seek the most comfortable mode to commute, including the convenience and the commuting time. For the former, some researchers have shown that people’s choice of public transport is determined by the capacity of passenger and interior facilities, such as air conditioners, while the latter concentrates more on the time reliability to reach a destination.

The second reason is the transport policy. The tax reduction policy is deemed as a counter-productive transport policy, enlarging people’s flexibility to satisfy their latent desire – owning a private car and using it for their routine. Before the policy implementation, only 20% of the middle-income class afforded a car. Yet, the number increases significantly to 70% after the policy came into effect. If the policy amendment is not thoughtfully considered, researchers have modeled the exponential upsurge of private car ownership by 90%, factoring in national positive economic growth.

To shift the current commuting fashion, the government has two prerogative measures to carry out to avert further negative trickle effects of this issue. Firstly, the government can start improving public transport quality to ensure that commuters perceive safety and comfort in public transport. Limiting the passenger capacity limitation and improving the interior facility of the public transportation can increase people’s comfort. In addition, providing busses with dedicated lanes can eliminate unnecessary impediments slowing down busses’ acceleration, thus warranting a more reliable time consumed for a single trip.

Secondly, the government shall amend existing counter-productive transport policies. The existing policy impairs the incessant efforts to decline private car use. With the low tax value and people’s economic improvement, the people’s purchasing power has dramatically been leveraged, thus inducing people to have more flexibility to purchase private vehicles. The vehicle tax escalation is inevitable if the government aims to lower the private vehicle quantity and change the current commuting trend.

To wrap up, those critical measures are expected to shift the current trend of commuting by private cars to public transport. The shift will positively provide benefits to all stakeholders, especially the government.