What are your views? Is there really a transport problem? Do the benefits of motorized transport outweigh the costs? Are there any minor (or perhaps major) changes you personally feel could make our present transport system more sustainable?

Throughout the majority of the world, transport is arguably one of the most important aspects of society. By this, I mean that people rely on motorized transport on a daily basis, whether it be delivery of goods to a buiseness, running a business or even time keeping. Motorized transport means that people are able to get around much more easily, so for the majority of people, if asked the question 'Is there a transport problem?' their answer would often be no, unless they were to complain about the problems traffic causes them as an individual. However, as someone who knows in slightly more depth than some of the problems caused by transport, I would say yes there is in fact a problem. The 'Department of Environment' state different ways that air pollution is caused, and although there are natural causes, as we all know such as emissions from volcanoes, one of the biggest problems are motor vehicles. The Department of Environment's website states 'In 2004 nearly 14 million vehicles were registered in Malaysia, almost double the number from a decade ago. The number will increase in the next few years, with higher disposable incomes, rural-urban migration and the lack of efficient public transport systems' (text: 'Clean Air for our Cities, 2006, by DOE Malaysia and German technical co-operation) This quote states some of the reasons for increased car use, and shows the extent to which people are buying, many famillies have more than one car, therefore causing a lot of pollution. Transport is causing many problems, but we need to think about more than just cars and transport on the roads, what about planes? The air pollution that they cause is huge, and it is often forgotten about by people.

However, although I believe that transport is a major cause of environmental problems, it doesn't mean that i believe cars shouldn't be used and limited at all. What i do believe is that people should think about their actions as there is often a way that people could make a minor change and a big difference to the environment if everyone was to make a change. For example car sharing could make a difference. I know from personal experiences that people like to take more cars to places than necessary, particularly my friends at home. As they have all fairly recently passed their driving tests, they all enjoy driving and want to take their cars out, even when they are going to the same place, so they often only end up with one or two passengers each and all take their cars. If they took it in turns to drive and only took the amount of cars needed it would not only save them money, but would also save the air from pollution. If everybody that was going to the same place shared cars and gave lifts to each other, the environment could be much cleaner.

Many people believe that where possible, public transport should be used, I have to say, although it may be much more environmentally friendly, i don't think that trying to enforce it will ever work. Think about it, if you had the choice to drive in your own car or get on a but full of people where you may have to stand up for the duration of the journey and push past people in order to get off...what would you choose? I know my answer, I would never choose public transport over a car, as bad as that may sound.

In my opinion, the benefits of motorized transport, in the form of cars to individuals definitely outweigh the costs. It enables fast and sufficient means of getting to work and appointments and it is comfortable. Also, even in the forms of buses it is much quicker and easier than walking, and in todays society, people would much rather pay a price than walk any distance, although this is a generalisation. In the case of planes, the benefits definitely outwigh the costs, it may be one of the most expensive forms of transport, but the opportunities that this form of transport provides are endless. It enables people to be able to travel and get around the world at a much quicker speed than years ago when ships were the only option.

I believe, as i mentioned briefly earlier on that there are several things that could be done to make our present transport system more sustainable. Firstly, people as individuals could make a difference by making changes to their lifestyles, and it could even benefit them aswell as the environment. My dad sometimes cycles to work instead of driving. He does it for his health and to try and be a bit fitter, however although he may not realise it, it helps the environment as well. Saying this, my parents are most likely the sort of people that are causing problems, my mum drives everywhere even if it is walking distance, purely because it is easier, I'm not saying this is a terrible thing as many people believe that if they change habits, it still wont make a differenct, but in fact it would if everyone in a country, or even globally just made one minor change. Also, i believe that governments could provide some sort of reward for people regularly using public transport or car sharing, as it would encourage people to use a slightly more sustainable way of travelling, this way people may use public transport and the environment would be positively affected.

However, in some parts of the world there are already ways in which both public transport and car sharing is encouraged. For example, London has the congestion charge, which although an inconveniece to many commuters, has been successful in reducing the cars passing through certain areas of the city and therefore the traffic is reduced along with air pollution. I also noticed, from my own experience that when I was in California in 2008, there were car pool lanes, which meant that cars with more than one person travelling in them were able to travel in another lane which would allow them to skip traffic. I think that this is a really good idea to encourage car sharing and as a result reduce traffic and air pollution.

Overall, although motorized transport may be a problem, there are still many other aspects to environmental problems, however if changes were made, the air quality in many areas could be improved significantly because the carbon emissions from vehicles such as cars are so great that the fossil fuels being burned are causing the environment great damage.

References

Department of Environment. (04/02/2010). Sources of Air Pollution. Available: http://www.doe.gov.my/en/content/sources-air-pollution. Last accessed 04/02/2010.