A Solution for the Problem of Cars in Cities

The streets would be better with far fewer cars,

And also everything else that mars

Their original role as a wide open space

Where all local children were free to race

And play their games, unhindered by

Endless cars which along them now fly.

Has the government considered it might like to give

Cheap transport permits to all those who live

In households in towns where they haven’t a car,

So the high costs of travel would not be a bar

To using the buses and coaches and trains,

Or even for much longer journeys the planes.

Not only could children live healthier lives,

With streets in the cities where no-one then drives

And there are no cars parked along on each side,

So even large streets become just half as wide.

And pollution would plummet with few cars around

Making the prospect of health much more sound

Of course in the country there’s need of a car,

For houses are often too scattered by far

For there to be buses which run day and night

Along all the roads, so no-one’s out of sight

Of a bus-stop where regular buses pass by

With shelters so everyone there can  keep dry.

But in cities, few people have need of a car

For there’s always a bus or a tube where they are,

And if they were cheap there would be no excuse,

For people to fail all the time to make use

Of the good public transport they’ll certainly find

If going by car is put out of their mind.