As the number of private cars has increased, so too has the level of pollution in many cities. What can be done to tackle this increasingly common problem?

As the number of private

cars

has increased, so has the level of pollution. Overreliance on

cars

at the expense of public

transport

has made

this

problem

even worse, causing many concerned citizens to look for a solution to the

problem

. One potential solution to

this

problem

is to discourage the use of private

cars

by raising taxes. If the cost of petrol was increased,

then

many

people

would consider using alternative forms of

transport

or even walking. Admittedly, there would be a number of complaints from car drivers, but these would not be of much importance when balanced against the environmental benefits. Another solution could be to look at more specific causes of the

problem

. Modern

cars

are fitted with cleaner-burning engines and catalytic converters.

Accordingly

, they do not cause as much of an environmental hazard as some older

cars

. In Japan,

for example

,

cars

are heavily taxed once they have been on the road for three years or more, encouraging

people

to buy new

cars

which pollute less. By heavily taxing older vehicles from the road, some of the worst polluting vehicles would be taken off the road.

However

,

this

would not really be fair to those who cannot afford a new car with

such

regularity. An improvement in the quality and efficiency of public

transport

would

also

encourage

people

to use their

cars

less. In London,

for example

, a system has been operating for some time in which

people

are allocated days of the week when they can use their

cars

. On days that they are not allowed to drive, public

transport

is taken.

Although

these are potential solutions to the

problem

, none of them is perfect. Only by a concerted effort by both the government and the public can

this

situation truly be resolved.