TRANSPORTATION

SSS Transportation is the one of important thing in our life. If there

was not transportation, how would we go somewhere or how would goods
be transported? In ancient times, new places were explored and also
nowadays, space is being discovered through transportation. If nothing
moves, nothing happens. Namely, life without transportation can not be
thought. Many things are invented for transportation until now. The wheel
was invented in about 3000 BC. From that time to now, transportation
styles and vehicles changed incredibly. Acording to their places
transportation can be divided into three groups which are land, sea and air
transportation.
The first group is land transportation. Cars, trucks, vans and
pickups are examples of this group. These vehicles move on wheels and
they can go everywhere on land. Land transportation is the most common
way in the world. It is always prefered for short distances. Most of us use
this way everyday. There are sixteen million land vehicles in Turkey. This
means a fifth person has a land vehicle.
The second group is sea transportation. This group includes ships,
boats, ferries and yachts. This way is used since ancient times. If we
ignore conguest of Istanbul, this vehicles go to sea through buoyant. Sea
way is the slowest way. However, sea vehicles can be very big. Therefore,
they can transport huge amounts. Moreover, it is always used for touring
in Turkey.
The last group is air transportation. Airplanes, helicopters, cargo
planes and jumbo jets are member of this group. Although this way was
used for wars, nowadays it is mostly used for passenger transportation.
Since it is the fastest way and not very expensive, it became very
common way. There are sixty seven airports in Turkey, but fourthy five of
them are being used. People can go to an other country in a few hours by
using this way. Acording to investigations, although airline is the fastest
way, this way is the safest one.
In conclusion, transportation is already in our daily life and we
need to use it. So it is the one of indispensable thing in our life. We always
need to go from somewhere to another and goods needs to be
transported. For all these, there are different transportatins. We always
use land way to go home, school, work or anywhere else. So, we can
reach land vehicles everywhere. Goods are always transported by ships. It
is slower, but it is cheap way and it can take huge amounts. For long
distances we always use airlines, as it is so fast. You can reach
everywhere you like. Namely, transportation is part of our life.

Structuring the essay

To answer the question whether there are more advantages or
disadvantages, you really need to look at both advantages and
disadvantages in the essay. It may be possible to say in your
introduction/conclusion that you can see no advantages/disadvantages
and then to write about only one side of the argument. However, I much
prefer a more balanced structure that considers both pros and cons.
The structure 5 paragraphs

The structure I choose for this essay is a 5 para essay. I do this partly
because I want a separate para for each advantage of free public
transport. This emphasises that there are more pros than cons.
Intro

Identify free public transport as essay topic. State there are more pros
than cons to such a policy (there is only one disadvantage but two
advantages). This sets out the map of the essay one disadvantage and
two advantage paras.
Content 1 (the disadvantage)

Look at the one major disadvantage cost/revenue. Explain that it is a

significant practical objection
Content 2 (the first advantage)

Explain how free public transport can reduce pollution.

Content 3 (the second advantage)

Explain how free public transport can reduce congestion.

Conclusion

A one sentence summary is normally right in a 5 para exam essay. So all I

do is directly answer the question (there are more advantages than
disadvantages) and link back to the introduction (the one disadvantage is
significant).

Vocabulary transport/government/cost/environment
You will find more detailed vocabulary notes below. The one point I want to
emphasise here is that one of the best ways to vary your vocabulary is to
use vocabulary from different topic areas. There are only so many
different ways of saying public transport. My solution is like this:
public transport means talking about government local

government councils transport authorities

this is a money question fares revenue costs income

transport and the environment are often related topics

green clean exhaust emissions air pollution

Ideas for public transport essays

Transport is a common IELTS essay topic and, as such, it is one of those
areas that you need to have ideas for. Here are a few I use in this essay
and some others you could use in other transport essays.
Advantages of free public transport
1.

the environment: more use of public transport means fewer cars on the
road and that means less pollution

2.

congestion: more use of public transport would lead to less congestion

3.

greater public access: making public transport free would mean everyone
could use it, regardless of income
Disadvantages of free public transport

1.

Fares are an important source of revenue for (local) governments without

them taxes would rise

2.

Governments need to invest in transport infrastructure and this requires

revenue

3.
4.

Transport workers need to be paid where do their wages come from

A free service may mean a lower quality service
Neutral ideas/Ideas for transport essays

1.

Is all public transport the same? What about long-distance routes between
cities?

2.

Could public transport be made free for some sections of society

(pensioners and schoolchildren)?

3.

Could some forms of public transport be made free (eg urban bus routes)?

4.

People could share car journeys, walk more or use bicycles. It is a personal
responsibility.

5.

Public transport should be privatised allowing private companies to

provide these services in a competitive market place

The essay with notes

In many countries around the world there is considerable debate about
the role of public transport. One suggestion that is commonly put forward
is that it should be made free of charge. My belief is that while this policy
might be difficult to implement in practice, there are at least two strong
reasons for considering it.
The one significant problem with making public transport free of charge is
financial. Councils and local governments need sufficient revenue not only
to pay bus drivers and other ancillary staff, but also to maintain
the transport infrastructure. There is a real danger that allowing people to
travel for free would deprive transport authorities of much needed funds
and lead to a lower standard of service.
This financial difficulty in free public transport is counterbalanced by a
potential benefit to the environment. The fact that so many people use
cars nowadays means that our cities suffer from rising levels of pollution
from car exhaust emissions. One way to address this problem would be to
encourage more people to use buses and trains by abolishing fares. If
more commuters chose to travel to work on public transport, our cities
would almost certainly be cleaner places to live in.
Another way in which free public transport could improve our quality of
life relates to congestion. Currently, the trend is for increasing numbers of
people to choose to drive to work. This means that in many cases the rush
hour is several hours long and it is sometimes almost impossible to travel
across a city. It is probable that this level of congestion would be reduced
by making public transport free.
My conclusion is then that there are more advantages than disadvantages
to free public transport, but this policy may be financially impossible to
implement.
Coherent structure

The final sentence of the intro uses some of the same language as the
conclusion (difficult to implement) The first sentences of each content

para are brief and simply outline that paras place in the
argument/structure of the essay. Content para 2 refers back to content
para 1 (This financial difficulty) Content para 3 refers back to content
para 2 (Another way)
Transport vocabulary -simple variations

Although none of the language is very specialised (apart form ancillary

staff) , I get good variety of transport vocab. I do this partly by using
prepositions accurately (travel across the city travel to work) and
partly by thinking of collocations/phrases (transport authorities and
transport infrastructure).