In some cities of the world, cars are replacing bicycles. However, in some other cities, bicycles are replacing cars. What are the reasons for these two developments? In your opinion, which one is better?

 

In some cities of the world, cars are replacing bicycles. However, in some other cities, bicycles are replacing cars. What are the reasons for these two developments? In your opinion, which one is better?

In a few cities, people are switching to cars from bicycles for transportation, whereas in some other cities, the use of bicycles is growing. There are plenty of reasons for these trends. I am of the opinion that the shift to bicycles is a better development because bicycles are more eco-friendly.

On the one hand, there are multiple reasons why in some urban areas people prefer cars to bicycles. In developing countries, economic growth is rising with each passing day, where most people are becoming economically stable, and the buying capacity of people has been supplemented. Moreover, people are moving their residences to the quieter place from crowded urban areas because of which cars have become a necessity. Finally, cars are more comfortable, safer and more convenient than two-wheelers.

On the other hand, there are several causes why people are switching to bicycles. Firstly, people are becoming more aware of the detrimental effects caused to the environment by the use of cars. Therefore, they are using bicycles and reducing the use of cars. Secondly, traffic congestion is the main problem caused due to excessive use of cars. To mitigate this, people prefer bicycles. For instance, in Amsterdam, in the past most of the people had cars and due to this, the problem of traffic congestion arose. Thus, to overcome this, the authorities of Amsterdam provided bicycle tracks and encouraged people to use bicycles.

However, I believe that adopting bicycles and reducing the use of cars is better because of numerous reasons. First, by using bicycles, we can suppress air pollution. Although cars are not mainly responsible for air pollution, by the implementation of this law, the governments can curb this issue to a large extent. To cite an example, in Delhi, these days, the air is extremely polluted and people are suffering to get fresh air. This situation also happened in past and at that time the government of Delhi passed the odd-even rule to tackle this menace. Due to this, the situation came under control. Therefore, if the usage of cars is reduced and they are replaced by bicycles, air pollution might reduce.

To conclude, there are several causes for both trends. I think switching to bicycles is a better development considering the worsening situation in our contemporary cities.