A new survey has been conducted which involves Australia’s major capital cities and whether or not a fee should be introduced to help reduce congestion. While this would benefit truckies in reducing time spent in traffic, it would also cause an increase in operating costs.
The Transport Opinion Survey of 1000 adults across Oz found that charging a fee of 5 cents per kilometre during peak traffic hours of 7am to 9am and 4:30pm to 6:30pm on all major roadways will help alleviate traffic congestion by encouraging up to 35 per cent motorists to travel at an alternative time or adopt public transport.
According to the results of a new survey, charging motorists a nominal amount of 5 cents per kilometre during the busiest traffic time will significantly reduce congestion in major cities, which would also have a positive impact on road safety.
Many accidents are as a result of driver negligence because of frustration on the road, by alleviating traffic and congestion, drivers will be less likely to speed and engage in dangerous actions on the road such as overtaking when it is not safe to do so. Therefore a reduction in traffic should correspond to a reduction in road accidents.
The research conducted by the University of Sydney reports that 13 per cent of people across all capital cities will switch to public transport due to a 5 cent surcharge and 22 per cent will opt to travel at different times of the day. They expect that most, 65 per cent would pay the charge and continue driving during these peak times but the reduction in vehicle numbers would still be significant enough to reduce congestion and allow traffic to flow better.
A post on Fullyloaded.com.au explains more:
The survey also found 34 percent of motorists across all capital cities have plenty of flexibility in selecting when they can leave home for work to avoid traffic congestion.
“This suggests that there is scope to reduce traffic congestion through road pricing while not impacting on work choices,” Hensher says.
“As we search for ways to reduce congestion on our roads during peak travelling times, these findings are very encouraging.”
Melbourne will react most favourably to peak-hour pricing, with 39 percent of respondents in the city saying they will switch driving times or rely on public transport.
Perth was the least likely to change its driving habits, with 72 percent of commuters saying they will continue to drive to and from work during peak times.
Sydney reported the least flexibility in departure time for work, with 73 percent of respondents in the city saying they must be at work at a fixed time.
Conversely, Perth reported the most flexibility in selecting departure time (41 percent) compared to other capital cities (28-35 percent).
The post goes on to explain how 53 per cent of respondents believe the highest priority issue for transport is public transport whereas 26 per cent believe it should be road improvements.
Around 24 percent are optimistic about the future of Aussie roads, believing that Australia will be better in one year’s time and 46 percent think it will be better in five years.
