Many people are pushing for abolishment of private transportation and increased reliance to public transportation for environmental considerations.
Less cars on the streets means less CO2 emissions that contribute to global warming. The problem of major cities regarding traffic congestion and air pollution can likewise be solved by a stronger public transportation system. That is why some countries put a high tax burden to private persons to own a car so as to curb private transportation. However, there are still some reasons why we can’t completely rely on public transit.
Ease of travel
Private transportation has one big point against complete reliance on public transportation—it offers ease of travel. Private transportation enables people to control the routes to take when traveling from one point to the other, as well as the length of time to take to do so. Driving their own cars, people can take detours and get lost from point A to point B. Also, private transportation makes it possible for a person to bring something else with him. People bring tons of bags from the grocery store or boxes of items from the shopping mall. People travel with their army of bags when they travel or when they go on vacation.
Imagine traveling from one city to another where there are no direct trips to your destination. When driving your own car, you need not change vehicles. You need not load and unload and reload bags or boxes from one vehicle to another. Imagine the hassle if you will do this while travelling using public transport, transferring from one bus to the other, or transferring from bus to train and to bus again.
Independence
The charm of owning and driving your own car lies in the independence it gives the driver. Driving your own car guarantees the independence that every young adult needs when they reach driving age. When you driver your own car, you can go anywhere you want, leave whenever you want. You can take as many detours and side trips along the way. You can opt to take the freeway or the country roads. You will have more opportunities for discovery, for new adventures.
Safety
Another quality that counters full reliance to public transportation is safety. Most public transports still have no provisions for seat belts for regular passengers, much less for child passengers. In case of collisions, children are more at risk as they can’t effectively brace themselves against the seats, nor hold on to the rails or handles. Persons of advanced age may likewise be at risk when riding public transportation. Public transportation is also inefficient for persons with disabilities as not all public vehicles have facilities for them. Public transportation is often at a low level of importance in terms of legislations. Politicians generally act on the interests of the population with the funds. Since the rich and the well-to-do don’t usually take public transport, seldom do they lobby for any improvement to its service. Hence, full reliance and dependence to public transportation still lies in the far future.
