For I am going to take an exam which will require to write a text in 220-260 words, I am practicing by answering some samples of it that are available on the Internet. I will fully appreciate any help, corrections and tips would be very welcomed. This time, the task concerns writing a contribution bearing in mind the information given in the exam, which is as follows:
- An English-speaking friend is doing some research on public transport around the world and has asked for a contribution from you.Write a contribution for your friend’s research, explaining: how important public transport is in your area; why people are willing or unwilling to use it, and; what you think should be done to improve public transport in your area. Now, this would be my response:
Dear friend,
it'll be a pleasure to lend you a hand in your research, it's always nice to help out a friend in need and I also find public transport to be a key issue in today's world. I hope the following information meets your requirements.
As you know, almost every European capital has a good public transportation system, and Madrid is not falling behind in this matter. We have a great system which combines the Metro (or underground if you like), Cercanías (a network of short-distance trains) and a sufficient buses fleet. Despite the recent budget cuts on public transportation, which have mostly resulted in increasing waiting times and the elimination of some bus routes, Madrid still has a fairly good public transport used by millions of people everyday. In fact, over two million people use the Metro on a regular working day, and a similar amount of people get to the city by short-distance trains which connect Madrid outskirts and nearby towns with the capital. Nowadays, the efforts of the city council focus on implementing bike lanes all around the city in order to reduce the air pollution.
For what is worth, I believe public transport to be indispensable. If there weren't such a good transportation system in Madrid, the city would collapse and the roads would be so crowded that nobody could get to their destination. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if last year's Metro strike had lasted for more than just a day, probably the government would have forced Metro workers to get back to their jobs immediately. Every time the workers of Metro, Cercanías or the buses company go on strike, Madrid turns into a chaotic city and nobody can get through the unavoidable traffic jams. So really the issue here isn't whether people are willing to use the public transport or not, but if they can afford to waste such an amount of time and money because, on top of it, public transport is cheaper than oil and all the expenses derived from having a car.
Speaking my mind, I would finally recommend that the city council and the regional government of Madrid should reconsider the budget cuts on such a major issue in the Madrileños' lifes. Detering people from using public transport is leading them to use cars, which ruin Madrid skyline with pollution every once in a while, not to mention the health implications envolved.
To sum up, Madrid needs a strong public transport network to keep the environment clean enough to live in the city. Whereas this has been the case, we need to preserve what our ancestors have given us.