M1 Public Transportation Opinion - Assignment Example

Over-reliance on certain forms of public transport such as road transport has compounding impact on environmental sustainability, economy and the movement of people. Public transport reduces various risks and problems associated with non-use of public transport including increased risks of accidents, traffic congestion, high carbon emission into the atmosphere and high costs of expanding and maintaining transport networks. Safety remains a major concern in the public transport sector owing to the increased number of accidents that the community and the government has to deal with in order to ensure positive impact of the community (Morris, 2001).

Nevertheless, public transport plays a key role in the community by facilitating important aspects of the economy such as trade and movement of people and goods and people from one place to another. Public transport also impacts on the well-being of the community as a source of income for the people employed in the sector. Individual investments in the public sector further contribute significantly to the economy of the community through returns accrued from such investments. Expansion of the public transport network can have significant negative impacts on the community including splitting of communities, loss of roadside community business, and disruption of traditional forms of transport.

From a social perspective, public transport offers a cheap means of movement especially to the majority who do not have access to private motor vehicles with the majority being children, women and old people (United Nations, 2001). Public transport increases the access to work opportunities or place, educational facilities and various social amenities. Expansion of transport networks to support public transport may result into displacement of families, households, psychological disruption among the affected people and economic loss mainly through disruption of businesses.

Sometimes, the social and psychological impacts of public transport such as displacement of families, disruption of social activities and costs associated with such impacts can be more devastating than anticipated by the public transport sector (Morris, 2001). The impact of the public transport on the environment is highly depended the type of transport and the rates of the pollutant’s emissions. The emissions of carbon dioxide, the primary global warming gas, is directly proportional to the amount of fuel consumed hence the higher the number of motor vehicles the greater the negative impact on the environment (Morris, 2001).

In this case, public transport plays an important role in the reduction of negative impact on the environment. This is also true for other environmental impacts such as noise and local air pollution hence the need to embrace efficient public transport. The adverse local environmental impacts are greatest where the amount of traffic high with congestion translating to increased fuel consumption and concomitant increase in carbon emission. In conclusion, public transport impacts on the community both negatively and positively including impacts on the economic, social and environmental aspects.

Therefore, promotion of public transport should entail assessment of its potential impacts on the community as discussed. References Morris, P. (2001). Methods of environmental impact assessment. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis. United Nations. (2001).