It costs Sydneysiders more each week to pay for tolls than to buy fuel. Even though transport costs across Australia fell by 4% and fuel costs fell by 20% in the June quarter, the cost of tolls kept rising. If Sydney had no tolls, vehicle owners would save around $86 a week. Read More
New cars are packed with technologies to make driving safer and more comfortable. While some drivers have no idea about their in-car tech, others may rely on it too much. As new safety technologies in cars are mandated, it is important to ask whether they are doing the job properly. Read More
Do you ever think about how much CO2 your vehicle emits? Maybe not, but did you know Australian cars use 23% more fuel than advertised? Now there’s a new voluntary CO2 Emissions Standard to help reduce vehicle emissions. Even so, it’s not there to tell Australians what to buy or carmakers what to make. Read More
When was the last time you drove a manual car? These days, most drivers want automatics and manufacturers don’t even offer manual versions of new models. Is this the end of the gear lever? Or will manual cars now appeal to keen collectors? Read More
Do you know anyone who rides an electric motorbike? In Australia, they are few and far between. Like electric cars, they are expensive and don’t travel far on one charge. When prices fall and battery capacity rises, electric motorbikes may appeal to a different kind of person to the one who rides a loud, throaty machine. Read More
Do you agree the most effective way to stop the use of mobile phones while driving is to turn them off? Most people think so but very few actually do it. When in heavy traffic or stopped at traffic lights, drivers are even more likely to use their phones. It appears we still don’t grasp the real risks of using phones while driving. Read More
Have you become more attached to your car again? The mood today seems to have shifted back towards cars, away from public transport and rideshare. Although car use in Sydney dropped dramatically during lockdown, it has 90% recovered to normal. Is this a lasting trend or just a blip on the way to Peak Car? Read More
If you live in one of Australia’s major cities, you probably have trouble with parking. At Sydney Airport, you can pay the highest rates per hour in the world. Sydney and Brisbane parking, of all kinds, is the third and fifth most expensive in the world. Some of us don’t want to pay at all to park. But did you know parking rangers are least likely to work on Fridays? Read More
How many times have you pulled up at a service station to buy fuel? It’s just one of the many mundane tasks of a vehicle owner. Now electric vehicles are changing the way we think about “refuelling” entirely. We have to think about charging rather than fuelling, where to charge, and how much charge our vehicle really needs. Read More
Sydney is not an easy city for most cyclists. There are few bicycle paths and motorists often claim cyclists block the roads. However, research shows cyclists don’t slow motorists down and regular cyclists are more likely than car drivers to rate themselves as competent road users. Read More