The debate surrounding public transport has been relatively reasonable, as the benefits of personal vehicles have started declining. Predominantly, it is focused on environmental and energy cost-related advantages. For example, if a piece of public transport works on a congested road, some individuals could use it instead of their cars, thus reducing energy costs (Nguyen et al., 2020).
While the relief caused by the vehicle would not be significant, the level of congestion on nearby roads would drop. Nonetheless, by shifting the focus from personal vehicles to buses, fewer vehicles will be on the road, thus decreasing traffic on. Moreover, congestion costs can be reduced by decreasing the equilibrium point by the switch above and supporting compact development that decreases travel distances (Litman, 2022). Besides, the increase in gas prices is another valid reason to support public transport (Financial Times, 2022). Thus, public transport can have a positive effect on congestion costs.
From an environmental standpoint, there are multiple benefits as well. If there are fewer cars due to people switching to public transport, the air will be significantly cleaner. Moreover, most CO2 emissions are caused by private vehicles, which is another fact favoring promoting buses (Remix, 2022).
For example, if a working week commute is an 18-mile daily round trip, this change would reduce the carbon footprint to two tones per person instead of the usual four (Liftango, 2022). The amount of toxic chemicals in the air will be decreased in this situation, as fewer vehicles will be used. This, in turn, will decrease the amount of carbon dioxide emissions and the risk of respiratory illnesses usually caused by the aforementioned toxic chemicals (Ridango, 2020; Longer, 2022). In conclusion, both aspects concisely depict the benefits of manufacturing public transportation buses, as they assist environmental protection and decrease energy and congestion costs.
References
Financial Times. (2022). Rising petrol prices drive Americans on to public transport.
Liftango. (2022). What are the environmental benefits of public transport? Liftango | On-Demand Shared Transport.
Litman, T. (2022). Evaluating Public Transit Benefits and Costs. Victoria Transport Policy Institute.
Longer, K. (2021). Should everyone travel by public transport in order to minimize air pollution? EarthLiberationFront.
Nguyen-Phuoc, D. Q., Currie, G., & Young, W. (2020). Traffic congestion relief associated with public transport. ResearchGate | Find and share research.
Remix. (2022). 8 benefits of public transportation. Remix | The Collaborative Platform for Transportation Decision-Makers.
Ridango. (2020). Five reasons why using public transport is better for the environment.