Article: Traffic snarls add $400 to fuel bills

[ozbob]

From Courier Mail click here!

Traffic snarls add $400 to fuel bills

Traffic snarls add $400 to fuel bills
Article from: The Courier-Mail

John McCarthy

May 20, 2008 12:00am

BRISBANE'S notorious traffic snarls are increasing fuel consumption and greenhouse emissions by about 30 per cent, according to the RACQ.

Its survey also found the crawl to work took almost twice as long as travelling the same routes between the morning and evening peaks.

The RACQ's executive manager for vehicle technologies, Steve Spalding, said the results reinforced the need for governments to get serious about reducing congestion on southeast Queensland roads.

"Our test shows clearly just how dearly our inadequate road network is costing working families and businesses as fuel prices continue to rise," Mr Spalding said.

"It also demonstrates that any serious effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the road transport sector must include effective congestion-relieving measures."

Two family sedans were used for the RACQ test, each travelling on a set route for five consecutive days to replicate a typical return commuter journey to and from the city.

Travel times, fuel consumption and calculated carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions were then compared with another five trips made by the same vehicles during daytime non-peak periods.

The two routes chosen were: Tingalpa to Fortitude Valley via Wynnum Road and the Story Bridge (a round trip of 22.5km); and Banyo to Fortitude Valley via Sandgate Road (a round trip of 26.5km).

"Even in the relatively moderate traffic congestion experienced during the trial, average fuel consumption went from 12.4 to 16.2 litres/100km during peak hour travel ? an increase of 3.8 litres/100km over the off-peak journeys," Mr Spalding said.

"On the longer of the two routes, that represents an extra $7.55 a week on the petrol bill at today's prices.

"As for environmental impact, calculated average CO2 emissions increased from 311 to 404.5g/km."

Inbound peak-hour journey times increased by 85 per cent over daytime trips for the two routes, with outbound peak-hour journey times increasing by 38 per cent.

Mr Spalding said the test results also highlighted the importance of motorists doing what they reasonably could to avoid peak period travel and for a greater take-up by car makers of technologies, such as idle shutdown, that lessen the environmental impact of vehicle engines during stop-start traffic

[mrciclismo]

Or how about getting really serious about public transport and encouraging people to use it instead of driving......