The epic failure of Sydney’s toll roads continues
POTENTIAL SAVING: $2232 annually, and 90 hours a week - one way
At 7.30am on Wednesday 9 November 2011, Radio 2UE broadcaster Paul Murray and I left Bankstown railway station in two separate cars, headed for The Rocks in Sydney. This seemingly inauspicious event was broadcast right across Sydney on 2UE.
Jason Morrison, 2UE’s breakfast host, covered our progress (if that’s the right word) regularly over the next 90 minutes or so, to answer the question: Are toll roads a fraud? In this case, the answer came back an unequivocal
Here's how we Australians are literally wasting our lives in traffic
Our capital cities are becoming ridiculously congested. It’s taking its toll – in both literal and metaphoric terms.
If you spend one hour commuting – each way – to work and back (and plenty of people do) you’re not driving any more; you’re wasting about 480 hours a year in traffic.
At the end of a year, you will have spent the same amount of time simply commuting to and from work as most people spend awake in one month.
In other words, commuting to and from work is taking many parents out of play as far as their families are concerned for one month every year, in total. An alternative way to process this information is that if you are lucky enough to take four weeks’ annual leave every year – four weeks doing nothing, soaking up rays at the beach, whatever – this is exactly the same period of time that you will spend commuting for the rest of the year.
The number of motor vehicles on Australian roads has increased
Capitalizing on downward swings in petrol price is simple - but only if you refuel smarter
Petrol companies paint the picture that petrol price is both logical and cheap, but the reality appears quite different
This post is about petrol price and how to drive so you can re-fuel more often when petrol prices are comparatively low, thereby saving money.
Petrol price fluctuations
Petrol price fluctuations at the service station are inevitable and unpredictable – but there is a very simple driving and refueling strategy that will allow you to save whenever the petrol price drops. It’s an easy, no-compromise way for any driver to cut the cost of motoring.
You can cut your fuel consumption by 10 per cent (or more) just by planning your trips better.
THE PROBLEM
Most people don’t plan their transport too well – either in business or in their domestic lives. This means they use their cars inefficiently – in other words they end up driving too far, too often, which wastes fuel and therefore money.
This means you can cut your fuel consumption just by planning ahead. It’s easy to cut your fuel consumption like this, but you do have to make an effort.
THE RESULT
For an average driver, spending $50-$100 a week on fuel, cutting your fuel consumption in this way will save you $250-$500 annually.
Degree of difficulty? A politician could do it. (Except they are generally disinclined to cut their fuel consumption because taxpayers fund much of their transport expenditure…)
HOW TO CUT YOUR FUEL CONSUMPTION
Cutting your fuel consumption in this way involves doing two things:
First, you cut your fuel consumption by doing