Discussion Topic - Travelling to work or college

Discussion Topic - Travelling to work or college.

Part 1: Introduction & Interview

Q. 1. How do you usually travel to work or college? [Why?]
Answer: I usually travel to work by public buses primarily because I can travel to and from my work rather easily. Besides, using public buses cost lesser money than using other means of transportations. Finally, travelling by bus keeps me safe and secured when the weather condition is not so favourable.

Q. 2. Have you always travelled to work/college in the same way? [Why/why not?]
Answer: No, I haven’t always travelled to and from my office by public bus because initially there were not just enough public buses in the area where I live. Besides, even when the buses were available on the road, I didn’t like it too much because I thought it would take me longer to travel to my destination. So, instead of taking buses in the beginning, I was relying upon my motor scooter. However, that changed a couple of years ago when I decided that taking a public bus is safer than riding a motorbike.

Q. 3. What do you like about travelling to work/college this way?
Answer: I like several things about travelling to and from work in this way. First, I don’t get affected by the tiredness of travelling because the buses, by which I travel, are comfortable. Another thing, which I really like about travelling in this way, is that these buses are available every 10 minutes almost all over the city.

Q. 4. What changes would improve the way you travel to work/college? [Why?]
Answer: I would like a couple of changes in the way I travel to and from my office in order to improve my daily commuting experience. First, I would want the bus authority to add more staffs for ticketing as sometimes I have to wait in a long queue to get my ticket. They can introduce the monthly ticket or card system so that regular passengers do not have to go through the hassle of paying for the ticket every single day. That would reduce the cost as well. Besides, I expect them to introduce a few more buses on the route I travel so that no commuter is forced to stand on their feet the whole time as the seats are often booked.


Part 3: Details Discussion

Q. 1. Do most people in your town/city use private cars to reach their offices?
Answer: No, I don’t think that most people in my town use private cars to reach their offices. In fact, I think that only a small percentage of people in my town own private cars since I don’t really see that many cars on the roads and streets of my small town. Besides, most people in my town are small business owners and farmers who consider buying a private car and travelling in it as some sort of “luxury”. So, naturally, most of them use public transportation like bus and other low-cost vehicles to travel to their works. 

Q. 2. Is it advantageous to have a separate lane for bicycles? Why?
Answer: It is certainly more advantageous to have a separate lane for bicycles, primarily because bike lanes don’t only keep cyclists safe but also the other people and vehicles on the roads and streets. It calms traffic, which makes the streets less chaotic and safer for everyone. Separate bike lanes also reduce the distance pedestrians are in contact with motor vehicles while crossing the streets. Besides, more people become interested in riding bikes because they feel safer on the roads and streets, which in turn helps control obesity and promotes physical fitness in the local population.

Q. 3. Should offices offer some kind of incentives to their employees who use eco-friendly transportations like a bicycle?
Answer: In my humble opinion, I think that all offices should offer some kind of incentives to their employees who are interested in using environment-friendly transportation, especially, if that transportation is a bicycle. The incentives may include commuter tax benefit for bicycle commuters, other cash incentives for bicycle commuters, free secure bicycle parking,  guaranteed ride home (due to bad weather and employee illness), and a place for workers to shower and change and then store their clothing, among the other things.

Q. 4. Why are parking problems in many cities going out of control? What can be done to mitigate it?
Answer: This parking problem in many cities is out of control due to ineffective land use planning and miscalculations of space requirements during the first stages of planning. Shortage of parking space, high parking tariffs, and traffic congestion due to visitors in search for a parking place are some of the obvious reasons that are causing this problem. To mitigate this problem, the authority should remove off-street parking requirements so that developers and businesses can decide on how many parking spaces to provide for their customers. They should also charge the right prices for the off-street parking.

Q. 5. Does your hometown have problems connected to transportation? How could these problems be solved?
Answer: Yes, my hometown does have some problems that are related to transportation. Problems like not enough roads and streets in the town and the increasing number of old motor vehicles, that are polluting our air and environment with their carbon emission, are becoming two major concerns for the city dwellers like us. To solve these problems, the authority should redraw the city map and plan the city accordingly to accommodate more roads and streets. The city authority should also announce some tax subsidies in order to encourage the old vehicle owners to get rid of their old vehicles.

Q. 6. How will transportation for college or office-goers change in the future?
Answer: I think that advanced technologies would reshape the future transportation for all people, including the college-goers and office-goers. To start with these changes, we will probably see more and more shared riding or shared mobility and the availability of autonomous vehicles (vehicles without any drivers that is) that could be integrated with other types of transit, offering some seamless, intermodal travel on demand. Besides, they could also be encouraged to use eco-friendly vehicles or vehicles riding with alternative fuels in order to protect our environment.

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