Car, bike or train? We find out which is faster for Sydney’s commuters
Edward Boyd and Campbell Gellie, The Daily Telegraph
March 9, 2019 7:15am
-
https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=135086289853833&href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailytelegraph.com.au%2Fnews%2Fnsw%2Fnews-story%2F5ad0cd941fc7261f293d871aeca4a98a&redirect_uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailytelegraph.com.au%2Fnews%2Fnsw%2Fnews-story%2F5ad0cd941fc7261f293d871aeca4a98a
-
https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Road%20test%3A%20Which%20is%20faster%20%E2%80%94%20car%2C%20bike%20or%20train%3F&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailytelegraph.com.au%2Fnews%2Fnsw%2Fnews-story%2F5ad0cd941fc7261f293d871aeca4a98a
-
<?subject=Road%20test%3A%20Which%20is%20faster%20%E2%80%94%20car%2C%20bike%20or%20train%3F&body=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailytelegraph.com.au%2Fnews%2Fnsw%2Fnews-story%2F5ad0cd941fc7261f293d871aeca4a98a>
Sydney’s choked roads are driving motorists crazy, with traffic on the
busiest routes up 50 per cent and car registrations increasing 24 per cent
over the past decade.
Research suggests the congestion crisis is not only sending us round the
bend, it is making us fat and unhealthy, and is hurting our relationships.
Figures compiled by The Saturday Telegraph underscore why Sydney’s gridlock
has become a key election battleground for both sides of politics.
Which is faster: car, bike or train?
Analysis of traffic on major toll roads has found that the number of
average daily trips on the M7 increased by 53 per cent from 2008 to 2018,
while traffic on the Hills M2 was up 45 per cent, on the M5 was up 30 per
cent, and the M1 Eastern Distributor and M4 increased by 21 per cent.
Roads and Maritime Services statistics show the average time motorists
spend on Sydney’s worst roads has increased even since October last year.
The problem has been highlighted by an investigation by The Saturday
Telegraph which found that cycling or catching public transport to the CBD
is quicker than driving from Manly, Marrickville, Ryde and Parramatta.
On the Hume Highway the afternoon peak commute increased from 19 minutes in
October to 23 minutes in February. It was worse on the M5 where the morning
peak increased from 34 minutes to 40 minutes while Anzac Pde’s afternoon
peak blew out from 19 minutes to 23 minutes. There are now 5.6 million
vehicles on the road in NSW — 1.1 million more than ten years ago.
Saskia van der Put, of Marrickville, says of cycling: ‘It’s easy to stop
for errands ... we don’t get stick in traffic and we have no parking
stress.’ Picture: Jonathan Ng
The average Sydney motorist spends an hour commuting to and from work and
that can lead to serious flow-on health effects, according to Australian
Catholic University Professor Takemi Sugiyama.
His research found commuters who spent that time in their cars each day are
about 2.3kg fatter, have bigger waists by about 1.5cm, and have higher
blood pressure and blood sugar levels compared to those whose journey to
work took less than 15 minutes.
“This is five days a week and it is that accumulation of this impact which
could have a substantial impact on people’s health,” he said.
Prof Sugiyama said public transport commuters weren’t as vulnerable because
they often walked to bus stops or train stations and sometimes had to stand
while moving.
Traffic city-bound on Victoria Rd, Gladesville. The 7.5km journey from the
Gladesville bridge to Surry Hills took 1 hour and 20 min on Monday morning.
Picture: John Grainger
Psychologist Josephine Gravina said people who spent a lot of time in
traffic weren’t as happy as others.
“It could be argued that the psychological effect of sitting in traffic has
more to do with how the experience is perceived,” she said. “If it is
perceived as a stressor, then continued exposure to traffic may have a
negative impact on psychological health over time.”
Psychotherapist and counsellor Dan Auerbach said traffic jams raised
stress, anxiety and anger levels.
“For those of us who have difficulty managing frustration because we are
anxious or find it hard to manage stress, being stuck in traffic can easily
tip us over into strong anger,” he said.
It can then take up to an hour for a person to be fully calm again, he said..
“That anger can spill over into our relationships at home or at work.
Residents polled in Los Angeles stated that traffic was of greater concern
to them than personal finances or safety, showing how negatively people
feel about being stuck in traffic.”
Rail commuter Rochelle Davies. Picture: Tim Hunter.
NRMA analysis has found that the average Sydney household spends a whopping
$22,393 on transport costs each year — an alarming 15 per cent of their
average income.
NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury said Sydney was the most expensive city for
families in terms of transport costs.
“The fact that the average family is dishing out more than 15 per cent of
their annual income just to get to work and school means families are left
with little to spend on themselves.”
Manly resident Jonny Harrison cycles into work in the city every day for
fitness and his mental wellbeing.
“When I ride it gives me time to think about my work day and create some
space from work so when I walk through the door I can be really present for
my wife and kids,” he said.
Rochelle Davies is an inner city worker from Western Sydney who says the
train is her easiest option.
Jonny Harrison on his daily commute from Manly to the City. Picture: Tim
Hunter
“The roads of a morning are like a carpark, I’ve been doing the commute on
the train for seven years,” she said. “I never even think of driving in, it
would just be too much to handle.”
Marrickville’s Saskia van de Put cycles because it is a better way to
travel. “We use the bike to commute and for leisure, we travel and arrive
happier, energised and sometimes even faster at our destination,” she said.
Demographer Mark McCrindle said people in Sydney had one of the longest
commutes in Australia. “Many don’t have a choice, because of affordability
they had to move further away from where they want to live,” he said.
*TRANSPORT ISSUES KEY ON ROAD TO POWER*
Armed with billions of taxpayer dollars, the Coalition and Labor are in an
election duel over who has the best answers to Sydney’s transport problems.
Since the campaign began both the Liberal/Nationals and Labor have pledged
billions of dollars to fix our roads and have set aside upwards of $6
billion to kickstart the Sydney Metro West project.
This week Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced the Coalition would spend
$450 million fixing 12 major road bottlenecks across Sydney.