We recently conducted our 15th annual Business Congestion Survey to find out how traffic conditions are affecting our business members.
The results showed a resounding consensus that traffic is back to its pre-COVID levels with 82% of respondents agreeing that congestion has increased in the last year, and the majority believing that it has gone up by at least 30%.
Of the 448 fleet-running businesses surveyed, the top impacts of congestion on businesses were:
- Time wasted in traffic (78%)
- Using more fuel (69%)
- Paying more money for tolls (57%)
- Time wasted looking for parking (50%)
The top areas of congestion were Sydney CBD (21%), which continues to cause the most grief to drivers, followed by Western Sydney (14%) and the Inner West (13%).
What this means for your business
NRMA business member and Zero Rentals director Michael Monajed said that congestion has significantly worsened since the pandemic.
“What we are noticing and hearing from employees is increased travel times, increased employee costs due to runs taking longer, and increased wear and tear on our fleet due to longer periods on the road,” Mr Monajed said.
“Products are taking longer to deliver and businesses are not seeing as many customers as they would like to as a result of increased congestion.”
To accommodate this, many businesses are having to change their ways of operating. This might mean allowing more time for callouts, changing your drivers’ travel routes, or rescheduling meetings to avoid peak hour traffic.
Our NRMA spokesman, Peter Khoury, said the results revealed the impact of congestion on businesses had worsened while also struggling with the added stress of rising inflation.
“We know that there are significant pressures being felt by many businesses in NSW at the moment, adding a financial strain and affecting the way they operate,” Mr Khoury said.
“Small businesses are the backbone of our economy in NSW and when business stalls, the economy stalls. Dealing with global inflationary pressures is hard enough without the added burden of congestion.”
What solutions are in the works?
NRMA business members identified Sydney’s key congestion-busting priorities as:
- Sydney Gateway Project (26%)
- CBD and South West Metro (25%)
- Metro West (24%)
There was also broad support among businesses for the NorthConnex (74%) as the most used motorway, followed by the M4-M5 Link (64%) and WestConnex M8 (63%).
Business members rated these new roads favourably with 85% rating NorthConnex positively for relieving congestion, followed closely by WestConnex M8 (84%) and the M4-M5 Link (74%).
Mr Khoury noted, “It is clear from the results that major infrastructure projects have had a significant impact on relieving congestion for businesses. The solution to congestion is investment in and smart management of our infrastructure.
It is critical that the NSW Government continue to invest in significant roads and public transport infrastructure to allow businesses and their employees to get where they need to go quickly and efficiently.”
We’ll continue to advocate for the Government to look towards innovative and technology-based solutions, including smart motorways and traffic drones, to keep traffic flowing and keep our almost 26,000 fleet-running business members moving.
