Petrol prices turn Sydney motorists into passengers
Spiraling fuel prices have been hitting Sydney motorists so hard in the hip pocket that thousands have been leaving their cars at home and commuting into the city via public transport instead.
This is the finding of New South Wales insurance giant, AAMI. who commissioned a survey of commuters. It shows that the number of drivers is down by six percent over the past 12 months, while the number of passengers on public buses and trains has gone up by the same number.
In Drummoyne earlier this week, petrol prices at the bowser hit a record 171.9 cents a litre (or $1.719).
The AAMI survey showed that 38 percent of Sydneysiders are now choosing to take public transport, or to walk, cycle or ride a motorbike (or motor scooter) to their workplace.
It is starting to look like the cost of fuel - plus the cost of those outrageous tollways - are finally knocking some sense into motorists, who used to accept as a god-given-right their “right” to lord around in a large car all the time, even if there was only the driver and no passengers.
Don’t get me totally wrong… I mean I enjoy driving a car too. But motorcycles are starting to make more and more sense nowadays, aren’t they?