Ielts writing task 2. traffic problems In some countries, private car drivers have to pay congestion tax for traffic problems. Some people think this will be helpful while others think there are better ways to solve traffic problems. Discuss both views and give your opinion. Over the past 50 years, people have been increasingly aware that some actions must be taken to tackle the growingly severe traffic jams. Some socialists and economists suggest that government should force private vehicle owners to pay an extra tax for traffic congestion. However, I tend to agree that this policy might not be able to solve the traffic problems radically, and there exist other more practical and viable solutions. Initially, the congestion tax policy is helpful to reduce the traffic jams. It serves to reduce the desire of car owners to use their cars and thus would decrease the number of vehicles on the road. However, it seems to be less valid to limit the car using of the rich individuals, who would rather pay a little money than waste their time on the road. A possible solution to the urban traffic jams is to develop the public transport systems such as urban rail transit and bus rapid transit. Since the traffic problem is relatively serious at rush hours when workers travel between home to work places, supposing that urban metros serves to provide cheaper and more comfortable seats for commuters, the traffic congestion is predicted to be relieved then. Another viable approach to ease the traffic pressure is to encourage citizens to take bicycles. To be specific, government could separate bikeways for bicyclists from traditional vehicle paths. In addition, traffic signals for bicycles should be introduced and plenty bicycle parking racks should be constructed. Overall, forcing private car drivers to pay an extra congestion tax could be useful to relieve the traffic pressure to some extent. However, more practical and viable solutions to this problem should be the development of public transport systems and alternative traveling ways.