Sydney CBD reclaims top ranking as worst for congestion: Business survey
The NRMA has today released its annual Business Congestion Survey with fleet-running businesses ranking the Sydney CBD as the worst area of Sydney for traffic congestion.
Now in its 17th year, the survey of 458 NRMA Business members found 81 per cent believed congestion had worsened in the last year and over half of those said their fleet spent an extra 20- 30 minutes in traffic daily compared to a year ago.
The Sydney CBD (18%) causes the most grief to drivers in Sydney due to traffic congestion, overtaking Western Sydney (17%) from last year. South-West Sydney (12%) also ranked highly.
NRMA Business provides specialised roadside assistance Australia wide, plus support with fleet management and corporate driver training, and an advocacy voice to almost 26,000 fleet-running businesses.
Congestion is impacting fleet running businesses in a number of ways, with the top concern being time wasted in traffic (75%) followed by using more fuel (63%), paying more for tolls (44%) and time wasted looking for parking spaces (44%).
In an attempt to offset the impact of congestion, businesses continue to allow more time for callouts, change travel routes, and reschedule meetings/appointments to avoid peak hour.
Most respondents in Sydney saw value in using toll roads, with Westconnex (13%), M7 (12%) and M8 (12%) delivering the most time saving benefits for businesses. Over three-quarters of Sydney respondents say their fleet use toll-roads.
NRMA spokespersonPeter Khoury said fleet running businesses were forced to offset the impacts of increased congestion with costly changes to their operating models.
“We know there are significant inflationary pressures being felt by many businesses in NSW at the moment, and traffic congestion is further adding to these pressures,” Mr Khoury said.
“As a Federal election approaches, it will be important for both parties to continue to address congestion and critically, find solutions that provide tangible benefits. The NSW Government will deliver their budget in June and the NRMA will be looking for commitments that keep our city moving.
“It is pleasing to see businesses are utilising new infrastructure like Westconnex and the M8, saving time for businesses while also taking traffic off already congested local roads.”
Fuel prices are by far the greatest cost for fleet running businesses (83%), followed by rego/insurance (61%) and maintenance and servicing costs (50%). For 67% of respondents, these extra costs add up to $20,000 per year.
To learn more about NRMA Business Motoring, please visit www.mynrma.com.au/business
