Car ownership has increased so rapidly over the past thirty years that many cities in the world are now "one big traffic jam". How true do you think this statement is? What measures can governments take to discourage people from using their cars?

It is widely known that more and more

cars

have been sold since the 1990s,

thus

increasing the amount of traffic in many cities, up to the point that it can take ages to come home after a long day at work. It is

also

worth considering that

this

phenomenon has contributed to the dramatic rise in carbon emissions, damaging the environment. But what can governments do to change

this

trend? First of all, in order to encourage people not to drive their

cars

when it is not necessary, it is fundamental to enhance public

transport

. Trains and buses should indeed be more frequent and punctual and cover as many city areas as possible.

Moreover

, with more and more people working shifts past midnight, it would be advisable for public means of

transport

to

also

function late at night.

This

would

also

appeal to younger citizens, who usually go out at the weekends and might face many difficulties if they wanted to go back home without having to use their

cars

.

Additionally

, economic factors should not be underestimated either. The price of petrol has increased significantly since the breaking out of the war in Russia and Israel, up to 50%.

However

,

cars

are still the most convenient means of

transport

,

due to

the high costs that bus and train tickets have.

Consequently

, making public

transport

cheaper may encourage people, especially daily commuters, to prefer it over their

cars

.

Furthermore

, studies have shown that limiting access to city centres only to bikes and pedestrians may contribute to reducing traffic.

For instance

, Rome recently introduced the so-called ZTL around the Colosseum area.

To sum up

,

although

it is acceptable to think

otherwise

, in my view, it cannot be denied that traffic jams have become a significant problem for cities to face and governments should take action with the aim of limiting it.