Discussion Topic - Traffic where you live
- Details
- Written by IELTS Mentor
Discussion Topic - Traffic where you live.
Part 1: Introduction & Interview
Q. 1. How do most people travel to and from work where you live?
Answer: Where I live, most people travel to and from work by public buses, private cars, motorcycles or three-wheeler vehicles because these transportations are not only easily available but also reasonably affordable. Some people also use trains to reach their office while a few people prefer to use bicycles for that.
Q. 2. What traffic problems are there in your area? [Why is that?]
Answer: I live in of the largest and busiest metropolitan cities in my country with a huge population, and therefore, it is only expected that we will have traffic congestion primarily because there isn’t just enough roads and streets to hold so many vehicles currently. The number of private cars is increasing rapidly while some people do not abide by the traffic rules to make the situation worse.
Q. 3. How do traffic problems affect you?
Answer: Traffic problems affect me rather very negatively as I have to get ready to go to work or anywhere else well in advance, and thus wasting a lot of extra time on the road. Then of course, because of spending too much time on the road makes me feel way more tired than what I am supposed to be.
Q. 4. How would you reduce the traffic problems in your area?
Answer: I would first clear the pavements from the hawkers and street vendors so that people can freely walk whenever they want. I would then plan to create a separate lane for bicycle riders and encourage people to ride bicycles more often. I would also create more roads and flyovers so that roads do not get congested and finally, I think I will impose more taxes on private car ownership to limit the number of private vehicles run on the streets.
Part 3: Details Discussion.
1. Has the traffic in your area become more congested over the last couple of years? Why?/ Why not?
Answer: Yes, the traffic in my area has become more congested over the last few years due to the fact that more and more vehicles are being driven on the streets. The area is more traffic-congested also because a large number of unreliable transports, both public and private, dominating many of the area’s main streets. Besides, people in my area these days have become too lazy to walk little distance, which means they park their vehicles here and there in the streets and thus creating unnecessary traffic congestion in the area.
2. Do you think the authority has done enough to tackle the problem? Why? /Why not?
Answer: No, I don’t think that the authority has done enough to tackle the traffic problem in my area because they haven’t taken any visible initiatives to encourage people to use transportation less and walk more. Besides, the authority hasn’t done anything yet to fix the fitness issue of many unreliable and slow vehicles which are being driven on the streets. No tangible steps to widen the major roads and streets have been taken either to accommodate the additional vehicles that are entering our area almost every day. Finally, the authority hasn’t taken any concrete steps to create employment opportunities outside of our city limit in order to discourage people from moving into our area to look for jobs.
3. Has there been any improvement in the transport in your area in recent years?
Answer: Yes, there have been some improvements in the transport in my area in recent years. For example, new public buses with air condition system have been rolled onto the streets to offer the daily commuters some level of comfort, especially, during the hot summer times. Besides, some dangerous roads with flawed turns have been fixed to minimize the possibility of road accidents. Finally, a significant number of lights has been added to illuminate some roads and streets in my areas which otherwise used to remain dark at night. But, while these are some of the good things, nothing visible has been done yet to solve the problem of traffic congestion.
4. Some countries impose higher taxes on car ownership and increase fuel price to tackle the traffic jam. How is the scenario in your country?
Answer: Just like these countries, my country has also imposed higher taxes on car ownership and increased the fuel prices in order to deal with the bad traffic problem in our roads and streets, but that doesn’t seem to have worked. In fact, day by day, the number of cars only keeps increasing, probably because the general income level of people has increased. Besides, people in my country, these days, are looking for comfort and luxury on the roads, even if it means to spend a fortune, and that’s why they don’t mind spending a lot of money in buying private cars, no matter how expensive they are.
5. Was any change introduced in traffic laws in your country?
Answer: Just like any other country in the world, my country also has some existing traffic laws. But, recently, a few new traffic laws have been introduced in my country in order to prevent people from getting hurt and keep things moving along smoothly in the roads. For example, penalising people for riding in a car without fastening seat belt and issuing traffic tickets to those who text on the mobile phone and drive at the same time. Apart from these two laws, another new traffic law has been introduced that tells drivers to slow down their cars when entering the school zones.
6. Was any change introduced in traffic laws in your country?
Answer: No. Unfortunately, the traffic scenario in my area is actually worse in many cases than the rest of the country as I live in one of the largest metropolitan cities of my country, which is already very much crowded with a lot of population and vehicles. On top of that, a significant number of people enter my area from outside of my town in their vehicles on a daily basis in order to take care of their business. As a result of these extra vehicles, the roads and streets in my city become even more jammed with these extra traffics.
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