Driving to Work Costs 14k per year

[asagaai]

Originally Posted by M&Ms

This country has a long way to go in terms of transport infrastructure. The solution isn't for everybody to catch the train, not everyone lives within walking distance from a station, and as we regularly see on the news, late night arrivals at Sydney train stations isn't the safest, with thugs there to rob you or vandalise your car in the carpark. Society needs cleansing, not sure how, but the attitudes of the youth in this country are wrong, consequences for crimes are too weak (unless you're speeding down the motorway, then you cop the harshness of the law), and everyone seems disgruntled and cranky 24/7. Not sure what the solution is, but travel to places like Japan and you'll see how a society should be operating....

My daughter is in Copenhagen for a uni break and the photos she sent this morning are really something else- lots of people walking (and they look pretty thin and healthy) and lots of bike riding- one video showed a close collision between a female cyclist and other cyclist at an intersection between 2 roads in the city.

I realise Australia with big distances has gone car dependent, and it is probably too late to go and deconstruct cities, but there is something in having smaller hubs with mainly walking/bicycles in hubs and perhaps hubs connected by trains/trams etc.

Too late for Australias big cities but still- like Parramatta - try to generate more bicycle use and hub integration.

Just looking at those shots of Copenhagen makes me realise there may be a better way. I mean Melbourne and Western suburbs Sydney just a shocker....

[kmav23]

Originally Posted by Mechan1k

So for the times I travel.

public transport from Western Sydney to work is near on 2 hours (multiple changes needed)
In the car ... it is approximately 1 hour (mornings are 45min ... afternoons are just over an hour)

Cost for public transport is the same is what I'd pay for fuel over the week.

I'd rather be in my car and not have to share with the great unwashed
Especially in Winter ... and crap weather.

Where I park is free ... and a short walk into work.
And I avoid tolls ... as it us always slower anyway using them.

Saying that though .... if i had to work in the actual Sydney CBD or North Sydney ... public transport is really the only way to go though ... as there is NO parking ... unless you enjoy paying $80 a day for parking in some of the parking stations.

If you work in the CBD or any busy city, public transport is the only option.
Driving into the city for work in peak hour is torture as you could take you 1 hour or 2 hours the next day.

[Peuty]

I ride my pushie to work (approx 40km round trip) and have done so for the last 7 odd years. Whilst I never drove my car to work, it's still quite a saving on public transport fares. I pay a couple of hundred a year to get the bike serviced and have to chuck a tube or two in as well.

Yeah the rain sucks sometimes, so does the cold, but it's worth it to be able to leave work when i want and not have to worry about a timetable, or a delay or a traffic jam. Oh and my Mrs commutes with me to, so it's nice to be able to spend a bit more time with her as well.

It's just the clueless Lime scooter riders and people with their heads in their phones I need to worry about.

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by kmav23

If you work in the CBD or any busy city, public transport is the only option.
Driving into the city for work in peak hour is torture as you could take you 1 hour or 2 hours the next day.

Obviously you have never traveled Melbourne train network, this is torture as most passengers must stand for the whole journey.
Trams not much better either.

With a car at least I get a chance having a rest in the car parks on our roads......

[kmav23]

Originally Posted by Officemanager

Obviously you have never traveled Melbourne train network, this is torture as most passengers must stand for the whole journey.
Trams not much better either.

With a car at least I get a chance having a rest in the car parks on our roads......

Standing is the worst, .. but at least you will arrive on time.

driving you will be constantly stressed and late for work and build up road rage.

[roKWiz]

This year my commutes have included everything from cruising on the Manly Ferry's, cycling Newcastles foreshores, walking across paddocks, bus-ing and train-ing it in Sydney, walking Melb's docklands, taking a 30mins spin down the Hume Fwy outside Chiltern to carrying stone out to the Warby's.
So I wouldn't have a clue as to how much its cost me this so far.

[Vesper Martini]

Originally Posted by Officemanager

Obviously you have never traveled Melbourne train network, this is torture as most passengers must stand for the whole journey.
Trams not much better either.

With a car at least I get a chance having a rest in the car parks on our roads......

Pretty sure he doesn't drive at all, so isn't really an authority on telling people what its like to be driving.

[ute83]

Originally Posted by QUIK6WGN

Maybe ULP/Diesel should'nt have the 3 or 4 taxes on it that it 'STILL DOES' after all these years since they put on???

FFS we are just all recovering in Melbourne after last week 91 went up to $1.65 until the P.H finished yesterday.

Fkin Stupid Government!!!!

Got F all to do with the govmint. Fuel companies can charge whatever they like as long as there is no collusion. On a side note good to see the emojis are back.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by asagaai

My daughter is in Copenhagen for a uni break and the photos she sent this morning are really something else- lots of people walking (and they look pretty thin and healthy) and lots of bike riding- one video showed a close collision between a female cyclist and other cyclist at an intersection between 2 roads in the city.

I realise Australia with big distances has gone car dependent, and it is probably too late to go and deconstruct cities, but there is something in having smaller hubs with mainly walking/bicycles in hubs and perhaps hubs connected by trains/trams etc.

Too late for Australias big cities but still- like Parramatta - try to generate more bicycle use and hub integration.

Just looking at those shots of Copenhagen makes me realise there may be a better way. I mean Melbourne and Western suburbs Sydney just a shocker....

Western Suburbs Sydney is ridiculous, the first time I came to Sydney I stayed in a hotel in what I thought was 'Sydney'

Turned out it was 'Rooty Hill' which is apparently still 'Sydney'

It turns out Rooty Hill is a $113 drunken one way 70km Uber Ride from Sydney CBD (70KM out of Melbourne is the damn sticks)

It probably would have cost like $5 by train or something but left my used needle at home in Melbourne that I stick in my arm to make myself fit in with the crowd on the train.

Shout out to Mont5.0 and TEZG for ferrying me about last time - AFF Uber service

[jmack]

the public transport system in melb is first class
:park your car that far from the station you might as well left it home and walked
:turn up to platform and find trains have been cancelled because some flog has got onto the track or its too hot etc and they are putting everyone on busses
:stand in rain or heat waiting for bus etc
:standing the whole trip squashed in like a sardine

where do i sign up

[ozpacman]

Originally Posted by au2000

Horses for courses indeed, for into the city, the smaller the better, for my 80 ks a day at 100 on a freeway, I'd always pick a 6 or 8 cylinder, mate of mine once brought a Echo for ballarat to melbourne and it cost him a fortune in fuel compared to his 6 cylinder commodore

Every now and then I start to get bored with life, and then I read crackers like this and just about pee my pants!

Fair dinkum, ya wouldn't be dead for quids!

Got any more?

[.:4:.]

Driving to work is cheap and easy in sydney. Pubic transport is expensive. I have multiple free parking spaces and dont pay for anything car related or fuel. Theyre called work cars. If your good enough at your job work will pay for pretty much most of the small things. My wage goes towards my mortgage, and food. Work cover phones and cars and interwebs and stuff.

[Citroënbender]

WHAT transport, my good man?

I think your “flirty receptionist” encounter last week has continued to distract you.

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

WHAT transport, my good man?

I think your “flirty receptionist” encounter last week has continued to distract you.

Nah mate, work pays for everything then my wage on top of that. So the drive to work is free, same with parking.

[Citroënbender]

You’ve got a Freudian slip typo there in Post 42, comrade.

[JasonACT]

Originally Posted by .:4:.

My wage goes towards my mortgage, and food. Work cover phones and cars and interwebs and stuff.

Mine is mortgage, food and booze. Had no food tonight, on a diet.

[Bolly47]

]Obviously you have never traveled Melbourne train network, this is torture as most passengers must stand for the whole journey.
Trams not much better either

Melbourne train and tram network is almost best in the world so look at Toowoomba Qld nanny state as is growing population with No public trains nor trams to new Toowoomba Airport or not ever passenger train to Brisbane has been deleted years ago so now coal train carriage to Brisbane is much more torture to live as 4 or 6 cars get stolen everyday in Toowoomba area cost $14000 or more to replace stolen car that need to drive to work

[JasonACT]

You who?

I've stayed as a guest of a Melbourne mate who told me "don't pay for the tram, the government stuffed it up, so screw them.." He lived within 2km of the CBD though, so he didn't care if you had to stand.

I've also lived on the Gold Coast, Reedy Creek, so no chance of not getting a seat when working in Brisbane, as that's where the train started from. Did that for a while too.

Still hate public transport though. Even though after 20 years of my first QLD experience, Brisbane highway traffic to CBD at peak hour was a standstill. Sigh, what happend Qld?

[EBSXR6]

In Melbourne the majority of Public Transport is City Centric. I travel from Doncaster East to Clayton 20Km takes about 40mins. Public Transport about 2hrs and that is assuming I get all the connections.

[LeadFoot81]

Originally Posted by au2000

Horses for courses indeed, for into the city, the smaller the better, for my 80 ks a day at 100 on a freeway, I'd always pick a 6 or 8 cylinder, mate of mine once brought a Echo for ballarat to melbourne and it cost him a fortune in fuel compared to his 6 cylinder commodore

Must be stuck in third!

[tapeworm]

On Apprentice wages, I'm easily dropping one days pay per week dragging my XR6 to and from work. But like some have said I would rather slit my throat than catch public transport. I notice some young guys I know are better off than me just being dole budgers, having no cars, health care cards, just minimal costs

[Big_Daz]

Originally Posted by JasonACT

You who?

I've stayed as a guest of a Melbourne mate who told me "don't pay for the tram, the government stuffed it up, so screw them.." He lived within 2km of the CBD though, so he didn't care if you had to stand.

I've also lived on the Gold Coast, Reedy Creek, so no chance of not getting a seat when working in Brisbane, as that's where the train started from. Did that for a while too.

Still hate public transport though. Even though after 20 years of my first QLD experience, Brisbane highway traffic to CBD at peak hour was a standstill. Sigh, what happend Qld?

One of my mates lives in Melbourne and he uses the Tram to work every day (Fitzroy to the City) and rarely buys a ticket... It is funny when I go down to visit and the plain clothes ticket inspectors start doing a check between stops and half the tram goes for the ticket machine to buy one...

But anyway, as for OP... If public transport was a viable option for me I would use it for sure but from home to work it would be 2 decent walks, 2 buses, 2 trains and approx. 2.5 hours each way...

Driving takes between 30 and 50 minutes dependant on the day (different shifts) and my petrol costs for the whole week (work and non work driving) is less than the cost of public transport. Plus there is no better remedy to a stressful day than a V8 and a stick shift....

[asagaai]

Originally Posted by tapeworm

On Apprentice wages, I'm easily dropping one days pay per week dragging my XR6 to and from work. But like some have said I would rather slit my throat than catch public transport. I notice some young guys I know are better off than me just being dole budgers, having no cars, health care cards, just minimal costs

Years ago - some 20 years back, when I had time for surfing, I noticed there was this guy that was always surfing, tanned fit guy, always hung around the city beach around the pretty girls. He was about my age. Looked like he did not work, had a motorbike, and was getting plenty.

I had a whine of the bad sort to a work colleague about the same thing you just said and that we would almost be better on the dole getting the sorta action he was getting. The wise colleague said yeah- fine now but if he does not launch he will just be a sad old dude with nothing and nothing to define him.

Bloke is now still around the beach, put on significant weight around gut as he has gone to beer and obviously his life does not require discipline, has crappy old motorbike held together by wire and string- and he is still not working. No longer is hanging with the beautiful girls, now is resigned to hanging around other old scungy looking dudes- barely goes out surfing.

Keep at it Tapey - it will be worth it when through hard work you have defined yourself to be a person of substance.

At least that's what I keep telling myself- now working a lot harder than 20 years ago

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by kmav23

Standing is the worst, .. but at least you will arrive on time.

driving you will be constantly stressed and late for work and build up road rage.

Public Transportation on time, what planet did you come from with that statement!


I use to work in public transport many many moons ago and believe me ****ed off transport users can be more violent than road rage when their commute turns crap.

[Peuty]

Originally Posted by Officemanager

Public Transportation on time, what planet did you come from with that statement!

It's not a planet, it's a magical place called Japan.

[hayseed]

Originally Posted by Officemanager

Public Transportation on time, what planet did you come from with that statement!

pretty sure he has has His own little Universe..

[Citroënbender]

Now I’ve got a Crowded House earworm!

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by kmav23

Standing is the worst, .. but at least you will arrive on time.

driving you will be constantly stressed and late for work and build up road rage.

Hilarious. Our trains are pathetically run, always late, cancelled or delayed.

You live in a fantasy world you car hating hippy.

[BA-XT]

I've had the pleasure of catching Melbourne's finest trains for 8 years. On 3 different lines. Usually average at least one stuff up a month. Unless you're on the Pakenham / Canbourne line... That's been under repair for years and they are always on buses.

Few years ago my train broke down... So off train and onto replacement buses. In the rush I forgot to tap on with myki. When I got to my train after the bus I hoped on then when I got off I got done for not having a valid ticket. 3 hour trip and a $230 fine to go.

I now fare evade every chance I get. Free travel going home every day. I've saved around $5,000. Screw paying for something like this then getting done like I did.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by asagaai

Bloke is now still around the beach, put on significant weight around gut as he has gone to beer and obviously his life does not require discipline, has crappy old motorbike held together by wire and string- and he is still not working. No longer is hanging with the beautiful girls, now is resigned to hanging around other old scungy looking dudes- barely goes out surfing.

Keep at it Tapey - it will be worth it when through hard work you have defined yourself to be a person of substance.

He sounds like the guy in the Toyota Hiace who hangs around Nobbys but I've never seen him get wet.

I second that tapeworm,
stick to your apprenticeship, having a trade behind you has a lot going for it.