IELTS Speaking · Part 3
Transport and traffic: IELTS Speaking Part 3 questions
Last updated 2 September 2026
In short
Transport and traffic is a common IELTS Speaking Part 3 discussion theme. After the Part 2 long turn, the examiner explores broader, abstract questions on the topic. This guide groups real practice questions from concrete to abstract, explains how to tackle each question type, and gives the vocabulary and linking language to answer with depth.
Discussion questions
The examiner usually opens the discussion with: "How do most people get around in your area?", then works up from concrete to abstract.
Warm-up (concrete)
Why do you think traffic has become such a problem in many cities?
Cause & effect
Development (societal)
How has the way people travel changed compared with the past?
ComparisonDo you think public transport is better than travelling by car?
EvaluationWhat could be done to reduce traffic in busy areas?
Opinion
Depth (abstract & hypothetical)
Should governments make it more expensive to drive private cars?
OpinionHow do you think people will travel in the future?
SpeculationIf cars were banned from city centres, what would the effects be?
HypothesisIs it realistic to expect people to give up their cars?
Evaluation
Useful vocabulary for this theme
Band 7+ language for discussing transport and traffic.
- the rush hour
- the busiest travelling period of the day
- “I always try to avoid travelling during the rush hour.”
- a traffic jam
- a long queue of stationary or slow vehicles
- “I got stuck in a traffic jam for well over an hour.”
- public transport
- shared services like buses, trains and trams
- “I rely on public transport to get to work every day.”
- commute to work
- travel regularly between home and your job
- “I commute to work by train, which takes about forty minutes.”
- ease congestion
- reduce the amount of heavy traffic
- “More cycle lanes would really help ease congestion.”