GEOGRAPHY

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LDQ Drafts

TRAFFIC CONGESTION

Why does traffic congestion occur? Causes of traffic congestion e.g.

Separation of work and residential areas is one of the factors that leads to traffic congestion. Commuting means travelling some distance between one's workplace and residence on a regular basis. According to a 2011 report published by the United States Bureau, 132.3 million people in the United States commute daily. In 2013, the average daily traffic volume entering the Central Business District (CBD) in Singapore was 289, 000 vehicles. This shows how many people commute to work, causing increasing needs for transport. For convenience and flexibility, commuters may turn to owning private vehicles such as cars and motorcycles. Hence, in certain cities car ownership is high, contributing to the massive amount of vehicles present on the road. This leads to traffic congestion indirectly. As a result, separation of work and residential areas contributes to traffic congestion.

Another factor that causes traffic congestion is movement of people from one part of the city to another part of the city to obtain or provide goods and services. For instance, people may need purchase goods at from specialised stores or attend classes located in different parts of the city. People may also need to travel within the city to provide goods and services. Wholesalers may deliver products to retail shops, and home delivery services deliver products to homes. These are carried with freight trucks and motorcycles. These vehicles not only increases the number of vehicles on the road, but also slow the traffic down. Freight trucks have slow travelling speeds and large bodies. If the truck breaks down, it will cause massive inconvenience to drivers and will cause traffic congestion. Therefore, movement of goods and services contribute to traffic congestion.

Another cause of traffic congestion is inadequate transport infrastructure and poor provision of transport services. Inadequate transport infrastructure means that the transport system is not capable of handling the amount of traffic that it receives. For example, roads may not have enough lanes or road networks may not be well-connected as well as lack of alternative roads. When the town council or the government decides to expand roads, road works and construction may also causes temporary traffic congestion in the particular area. Poor provision of transport services means that there are not enough rail or buses to accommodate the number of commuters. This results in overcrowded trains and buses. In Mumbai, India, the trains filled to many times their capacities that people have to resort to settling on the roofs on the trains. Buses in Mumbai are also often overcrowded. As a result inadequate infrastructure and poor provision of transport services, people such as commuters may not want to take the public transport and may result to buying private vehicles such as cars. In Mumbai, the number of cars have grown by 51% from 2007-2013 as stated in a Mumbai newspaper. This is a result of the overcrowded public transport. As a result, another cause for traffic congestion is inadequate transport infrastructure and poor provision of transport services.

Impacts of traffic congestion

One of the impacts of traffic congestion is reduced productivity. Productivity refers to the rate which goods or services are produced. Productivity is measured in output per unit of labour and involves engaging activities that bring about economic benefits. Traffic congestion reduces productivity as people have to spend more time commuting. This wastes time that can be spent on productive work. When the transport system is inefficient, productivity decreases. This leads to an economic loss for the country. In Singapore, the economic loss from inefficient transport amounts to 9 percent of the country's annual income per person, according to a 2014 study by Siemens. That is a lot of money being lost solely because of traffic congestion. In other countries such as Lagos, Nigeria, it can be as much as 28 per cent per person. As a result, one of the impacts of traffic congestion is reduced productivity.

Another impact of traffic congestion are negative effects on one's physical and mental health. Physical health refers to the general condition of a person while mental health refers to a person's psychological state indicated by his or her emotions and behaviour. Long travelling times can lead to fatigue. People may then lose concentration or even fall asleep, leading to accidents or death.