A survey of Australian road users suggests the majority are willing to change their behaviour to help reduce congestion.
National road research body ARRB Group asked more than 1000 road users what sacrifices they were willing to make to help relieve the strain on Australia’s road network. Peak-time congestion can be crippling; the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics estimated the avoidable cost of congestion for the Australian capital cities was around $16.5 billion for the 2015 financial year, having grown from about $12.8 billion for 2010.
Almost half of survey participants (47%) said they would work more flexible hours, while two thirds (66%) said they would commit to a car-free commute one or more days per week, instead choosing public transport (34%), walking (20%) or cycling (12%).
Given the power to make three anti-congestion changes, 41% said they would ban or reduce on-street parking during peak hours, 39% would enable more free flowing traffic (longer green lights) on major arterials and 38% would widen roads with an additional lane.
ARRB National Technical Leader and Manager of Congestion, Dr Charles Karl, says although new roads and better public transport may be the long-term solution, involving road users in decision making and incentivising behaviour change could be a“secret weapon” in the battle against congestion.
“Population growth, particularly in outer-urban areas, is putting greater strain on our road network amplifying the impact of accidents, breakdowns and maintenance works on commute times,” Karl says. “We’ve all felt the impact of less peak-hour traffic on our roads during school-holidays, so imagine if we could divert even 10% or 20% of cars off our roads in the busiest times by taking a more innovative community-led approach.”
Karl says the results highlighted a clear generational difference in how Australians were coping with the rise in congestion.
While 73% of 18-24 year olds have turned to public transport, walking or cycling to avoid the increase in road traffic in the last five years, less than a third of 45-65 year olds (29%) were choosing to leave their cars at home.
“While Gen Ys are happy to ditch their cars in favour of public transport, foot and pedal power, older generations have their hands firmly on the steering wheel, choosing to work longer hours to avoid the dreaded peak-hour crawl,” Dr Karl says.