INCREASE IN FUEL PRICES IS GOOD!

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In the last few years, more and more people in the country are saying no to public transport and buying a means of personal transport. Sales of two and four wheelers have continued to show double-digit growth, but if the fuel prices continue to increase further, things may change to some extent.

Yahoo reports a poll result that a third of Indians see public transport as more viable option owing to rising fuel prices. This is still a small number, but further rise in prices may see more people opting out of personal transport. See more about the original report on ACNielsen web page.

Less cars and bikes on the road could mean a lot to our cities. We can breath the air that is a bit cleaner and see our roads less congested. Even better, we may see fewer children walking into hospital complaining of lung problems. But that needs more work on improving public transport and some commitment from people to give up driving every day.

Personally, I have been struggling for more than a year to cut down the usage of my car and have met with partial success. Though fuel prices did not deter me from using the car, traffic situation and worsening air quality did. I now use the bus to travel to work as much as I can but still get tempted to use the car occasionally. I almost never take an auto-rickshaw and take public transport when I have time in my hands and my destination is well connected. And I am now using a two-wheeler instead of the car unless I need to go long distances. I am happy that I am doing a bit to reduce CO emission, but I still feel the need to do more about it. And I feel that if we all do our bit to avoid driving unless necessary, we will be helping to make our city much more livable.