What Will Get You Out of Cars? Topic: Increasing the price of petrol is the best way to solve growing traffic and pollution problems. To what extent do you agree or disagree? What other measuresdo you think might be effective? My composition: The most prevalent solution nowadays to traffic and pollution problems is the higher price of petrol. People tend to believe the soaring number on the screen may spur the driver to abandon his Porsche and take to an environment-friendly way. This I think only scratches the surface. The best way should be to make its green alternatives attractive enough to get people out of cars. A higher price will never work because for those who can afford a fine car and a fair garage, the price of petrol is never a problem, especially in China where cars still remain a privillege for well-to-do families. A minor rise in petrol price is not likely to make them change their minds, and a jump will be accompanied with risks - the simmering resentment for the rich, for example, as people who just edged into a relatively affluent society may be most attacked and the ownership of cars may return to be an exclusive privillege for the wealthy. That’s definitely not what we expect. Since our final goal is to encourage people to choose the traffic modes with environmental benefits, the best way I think is to provide them with better options, cheaper and more convenient to be exact. The basic advantages of travelling by car are privacy, comfort and speed it ensures. We are not surprised to find a dirty, crowded, noisy bus that inches and stumbles all the way to the destinations the passagers can hardly agree on is losing to a comfortable car cruising smoothly aside. To reverse the situation, more efforts are demanded to improve infrastructural facilities. With cheaper tickets, better environment inside and more lines open to traffic that covers more places, assisted with due propaganda and education work, we can start to expect a quiter land under a clearer sky. PS: I really hate writing this way!