Essay 111 – Ownership of cars should be restricted to one per family

GT Writing Task 2 / Essay Sample # 111

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

The ownership of cars should be restricted to one per family in order to reduce traffic congestion and pollution.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Write at least 250 words.

Model Answer: [Agreement with the view up to a point]

Traffic jams and pollution are two pervasive phenomena in cities all around the world. Many people argue that governments should restrict one car for each family so as to end the traffic gridlock and environmental contamination. While I agree with the view up to a point, I would argue that governments should also take other measures such as budget on improving public transport and media campaigns, to curb the problem.

Traffic congestion in major cities is going from bad to worse as a substantial number of private cars hit the road every day. It is a common scenario that cosmopolitan cities grind to a standstill with a huge number of private transportations. These private vehicles occupy 60 percent of the street space but carry merely 10 percent of the total commuters. Moreover, private automobiles are large contributors to air and noise pollution. Ownership of private vehicles, therefore, ought to be restricted to one per family by governments to reduce the number of cars on the street.

Besides, a variety of measures should also be taken to alleviate this issue. First, governments should spend a generous budget on developing public transportation system and road infrastructure. With an improved public transportation system, more people will travel by tram, bus or subway instead of private cars. It will ultimately mitigate the situation of traffic gridlock as well as pollution to a great extent. Apart from that, governments should also launch a huge media campaign to raise awareness among citizens about the aftermath of traffic congestion and pollution.

To conclude, restricting ownership of private cars would reduce traffic jams and pollution to some extent. And I believe that improved public transports and media campaigns, along with the one car per family policy, would be more effective in mitigating the condition.