Many big cities in the United States have serious traffic problems. Too many cars travel on the freeways to and from the city. This heavy traffic causes delays and lots of pollution from cars that are using their engines but not moving anywhere. Many cars going nowhere is called a "traffic jam."

While many cities in the United States have traffic problems, some of the worst are in Los Angeles, California. Los Angeles is a big city with a large downtown area. One of the reasons there is so much traffic is that almost everyone uses a car to get around instead of using public transportation. Many people live far from the city and drive many kilometers to work and back every day.

Experts say one possible solution to the traffic problem in Los Angeles would be to make people want to use the public transportation system of buses instead of their own cars. People say the buses should be made easier, faster, less costly and more dependable than driving a car.

One suggestion is to reduce the cost of riding the bus. People who usually drive their cars could save a lot of money on gas and parking costs. Also, Los Angeles could make the buses easier for people to use. The buses could travel to more places in the city. And there could be more special lanes on the freeways that only buses could drive in. These changes would make taking the bus faster and easier than driving a car.

The city of Los Angeles controls all of the public transportation. Some experts suggest permitting private bus companies to compete for riders. The private companies would find ways to make the buses more popular.

Other experts have said that the best way to ease traffic problems is to charge people money to drive on the freeways. These charges, or tolls, would be for the most crowded roads.

The tolls would be in effect during the times of day when most people drive to work and home again. These times in the morning and late afternoon are called "rush hour."

People would try to avoid driving on these roads, which would decrease the amount of traffic. Also, the money collected from these tolls could be used to improve the roads and public transportation system.