There are two options available when it comes to choosing the best mode of
transportation
ranging from public to private
transportation
. While a number of
people
argue that it is essential for the government to construct and fund more
roads
, others believe that building highways is more significant to the city's development. I personally disagree with funding money for them and the reasons for
this
would be elaborated on in
this
essay.
Easy access to
roads
would provide platforms for
people
to use private cars or motorcycles more often than before and if not handled well,
this
would immediately disturb the public well-being.
For instance
, more than 89% of
people
who live in Jakarta are using either private cars or motorcycles to get to their destinations or travel compared to the small proportion of
people
who utilize public transport like Trans Jakarta or electric trains.
This
happens because of the wide platforms being provided for
people
to travel in any places without restriction or high taxes and
as a result
,
pollution
occurs, as proven by the increasing number of polluted air in Jakarta with nearly 65% of
pollution
spread around the city.
Pollution
has proven to be one of the contributing causes of lung disease, cancer, and chemical poisoning. While it is true that toll road distribution might make it easier for
people
to reach places, investing more in
this
is ineffective and does not worth its consequences.
Instead
, investing money to improve public
transportation
may lead
people
to progressively limit the use of cars and
thus
, air
pollution
is reduced.
Furthermore
, building motorways confiscate a large number of forest lands. With trees being cut down and lands being transformed into paved
roads
, environmental disasters
such
as floods and landslides are only the short-term dangerous risks that come with it.
For instance
, highway construction in the Kalimantan region caused fatalities due to floods and landslides that occurred a couple of months after the toll
roads
were constructed. While it is true that the government could build dams near the residential houses, the effects could only be witnessed for a long period of time and before it happens,
people
would be affected by the damage. In fact, public
transportation
could be built underground so that it would be safer both for the environment and the
people
that live near it.
It is true that productivity and mobility would be a lot easier with thoroughfares.
However
,
this
could
also
be done by providing sufficient public conveyance like subway stations to make sure that
people
arrive at their destinations on time.
In summary, investing in road construction would cause more harm than benefits as it would interfere with public well-being and demolish the environment.
Hence
, it would be prudent to add public transport to cities and increase the price of taxes to minimize the use of private
transportation
.