Car News Articles

Has your commute to and from work gotten easier? Anecdotally, high petrol prices and other economic factors are pushing people off the road and onto public transport. Which is a good thing if you’re sticking with your car.

A quick straw poll in the office at Drive.com.au confirmed our gut feeling that the traffic is easing. And statistics published in the Sydney Morning Herald would appear to bear out our conclusion.

According to the Herald, in the twelve months to February 2008, there were 1.2 million new passengers on the Bankstown train line, a growth rate of 8.4 per cent.

The number of passengers on the Inner West Line grew 7.4 per cent, 6.3 per cent on the Western Line, and 6.2 per cent on the East Hills line.

Buses, both suburban and long distance, are also reporting increased patronage.

Even more telling is the fact that our consumption of unleaded fuel has fallen by 4.4 per cent in the first three months of this year, while overall petrol sales fell by 1.2 per cent.

All this points to the fact that people are getting out of their cars and onto public transport. And that public transport is now bursting at the seams. It also shows that market forces are working – the higher the price of petrol, the lower the demand, and the more active consumers are in seeking alternatives.

But the examples given are just for Sydney. What is the traffic like in your neck of the woods? Have higher petrol prices taken the edge off the daily commuter grind? And will higher petrol prices eventually force you onto public transport?

Joshua Gliddon