In some countries, the government has tried to reduce traffic. For instance, they imposed a congestion tax during rush hour. Do you think this development is positive or negative?

You must have experienced the frustration when driving in busy hours. Actually, the government has tried numerous ways to bring down the congestion, but mostly in vain. Recently, it has been proposed that anyone who drives in commuting hours pay a considerable amount of tax. I believe

this

proposal will effectively solve the traffic problem in the city.

First

, if

this

proposal is put into effect, many drivers will choose not to drive during commuting hours. They may take public transportation or wait until after busy hours, which means there will be fewer vehicles in

this

period and the congestion problem will be much less severe. Let's just do some simple calculations here. Suppose the amount keeps 1/4 of all drivers from driving at all in congested hours and encourages another 1/4 to use other means of transportation rather than driving their own cars, the number of cars in rush hours can be reduced by half. If

this

really happens, we will never have to worry about the commuting hour any more.

Then

, when the traffic problem is gone, other benefits will follow closely.

For instance

, the city will become quieter without the angry horns, the air will become cleaner when the carbon dioxide emission is halved. Most important of all, people, especially those commuters will be able to make it to where they work on time and in good mood, and

accordingly

, their work efficiency will improve. The importance of congestion tax may bring about some problems of course.

For example

, those driving in rush hour have to pay an extra sum of money, and those not driving in a traffic jam will put some pressure on the public transportation which has already been very crowded.

Nevertheless

, I am still supportive of the tax proposal because compared with the solution it promises, the problems it causes are far less important.