Perth's congestion crush is back

13 July, 2021   By: Ruth Callaghan

Perhaps it is a side effect of working from home. Those days, weeks or months for some, when the commute to work was the time it took to walk from bedroom to desk. Did that time spent at home make us value the convenience of our cars slightly more?

Is it the virus that's broken the habit of public transport and driven people back into cars, or is it just the reality of a city booming again?

According to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics population figures, Perth experienced the second-highest population growth rate of all capital cities in Australia across 2019-2020, with 37,500 more people in the Perth metropolitan area, all jostling for land and housing and space on the freeway at once.

Whatever the reason, nearly half of RAC members are saying congestion in Perth has become worse in the last 12 months.

Based on RAC surveys from early 2020 and earlier this year, the percentage of RAC members who report they use their car to commute to work or study is on the rise and four in 10 who drive regularly during peak periods are not satisfied with their commute. In fact, almost half of members said sitting in congestion causes them stress and negatively impacts their wellbeing.

At the same time, the proportion who catch a train or bus is down — not as dramatically as in the 2020 lockdown — but still a significant decline overall. Public transport boardings in March this year were approximately 80 per cent of those in March 2019, according to the Public Transport Authority.

When members were asked in March this year what their preferred method of commuting would be, 71 per cent nominated the car, up significantly from only 58 per cent in January last year.

Yet of those that do currently drive to work or study, one in four say that driving is not their preferred way to travel. It suggests there’s an opportunity for policy and decisionmakers to help people give up the congested daily commute for another option.

“What we’ve seen recently is a shift in the preference of our members towards driving since the COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions last year,” says Sarah Macaulay, RAC acting general manager, Social Impact.

“The concerns about health that might have prompted people to avoid public transport last year have started to fade, and it seems preferences and habits have changed. People have got into the routine of climbing into their car. That’s borne out in traffic figures, which outside of periods of restriction show an increased number of vehicles on the road across the day.”

What causes congestion?

The primary cause of congestion is fairly straightforward — demand for road space exceeds its supply. But there are challenges that sit behind that simple explanation.

For some global cities, the driving factor behind road congestion is population, with congestion worsening as more people need to travel along limited roads from A to B.

Yet in some cities with high population density that isn’t the case, often because policy, infrastructure and transport services help to make travel by other means easier and more attractive.

And then there’s what is known as induced demand in which – paradoxically – well-designed new roads and expansions can end up worsening congestion by freeing up capacity and making the route so attractive that more people want to drive on it to take advantage of reduced travel times.

It means that solving congestion is not as simple as building more roads, Macaulay says.

“Sometimes if there’s localised congestion or a pinch point, such as where the intersection type or design is inappropriate for the traffic movements or volumes and through-traffic becomes blocked, that’s where infrastructure changes can make a big difference.

“But simply adding an additional traffic lane tends to only relieve congestion in the shorter-term.

“By making it easier to drive, it can encourage more people to do so. We need to improve the safety and efficiency of our roads but also look at how we better support other transport options.”

Measuring the morning rush

Back in 2015, Infrastructure Australia sounded an alarm that if Perth continued to grow at the same pace, and without significant investment in road and transport networks, it would become home to seven of the country’s 10 most congested roads.

A slower than expected increase in population and much-needed infrastructure has fortunately lessened those fears, yet it is still predicted that by 2031, the cost of congestion to the state will more than double to $3.6 billion a year.

Real-time traffic data shows how that cost translates for the average driver in Perth. GPS company Tom Tom estimates 10 minutes out of every 30 commuting in Perth’s peak hours is currently spent sitting in traffic.

This represents an enormous cost to individuals and businesses who waste otherwise productive time.

And it is not just in Perth – RAC’s survey showed 40 per cent of regional members also report experiencing congestion in their towns at least once a week, with one in five saying it happens more than a few days a week.

There is a desire for government to do more to address the causes behind congestion, Macaulay says, from addressing poorly designed intersections that lead to gridlock (nominated by two-thirds of members as a priority for action) to using better technology to manage traffic flows (54 per cent) and upgrading roads (49 per cent).

A growing number would also like to see changes that could reduce the demand for driving overall, such as help to work from home more often, more jobs being located closer to where people live and better, faster, more reliable public transport.

“There are many ways we can get more out of our road network.”

“Perth’s first Smart Freeway (introduced on Kwinana Freeway northbound and soon to be on Mitchell Freeway southbound) is an example of how technology can be used to help reduce travel times and increase efficiency,” Macaulay says.

“And on corridors where we have high frequency bus services, where appropriate, providing additional priority for buses can help improve travel times, reliability and frequency.

“That not only makes buses more attractive, increasing ridership, but more people can be moved along the same corridor in fewer vehicles.”

According to a survey of RAC members last year, 80 per cent of those working from home said they would like to continue doing so up to two days a week.

RAC estimated this change alone would be the equivalent of taking 65,000 cars a day off the roads, making local roads quieter and safer, saving hours of productive time a month, and helping to support more vibrant and active local communities.

“COVID acted as a catalyst for a lot of employers to enable their people to work from home, and while we’ve seen working from home decline a bit this year, where there is the flexibility and preference to continue to do so it can help to manage travel demand,” Macaulay says.

“We also need to think about how we can support job creation closer to where people live by improving public transport connections between activity centres for example, and ensure we are effectively planning for this into the future.

“Well-designed and connected cycling infrastructure, the creation of safer streets and more shared paths can also have a big impact on the number of people choosing to ride and walk for more trips.

“There’s no one way to manage congestion, but there are lots of measures that, together, can make a difference.”