BenandPam

Although I have been to Australia a couple of times, I have only really seen bed traffic congestion once when we arrived in Sydney and drove from the airport in to the CBD. I don't for one moment believe that rush hour congestion doesn't exist, I am just interested to see how it compares to what you experienced in the UK. We live on the edge of Watford and I regularly drive on the M25,M40, M4 and M1, and regularly experience congestion that would drive you mad.

I am specifically interested in the traffic around Sydney and Melbourne as I am trying to work out how far out from the respective CBD's we could live and still have a 30 minute drive to work in rush hour.

podgypossum

I owned a taxi company in London before i left..now in Adelaide..driving here is like a walk in the park in comparison.. i have ben to Sydney a few times and even there, i dont think its anywhere near as bad as London

i also lived not far from Watford...Pinner/ Northwood..do you know it?

anya4oz

Hi Ben & Pam,

Can only really tell you about Melbourne. It depends where you live, but traffic does vary. I live West of the Yarra, & the Westgate Bridge is quite a bottle neck at the wrong time of day. Not as bad as M25 though. Friends who live North & East of the City also say it gets very busy at rush hour. Also, people tend to start work at say 8am or 8:30, so rush hour starts earlier.

As I'm 13 mins by cheap, reliable train from the CBD, I wouldn't bother to drive in. The trains, certainly our side of the city, are not as crammed & unpleasant as UK trains, tho it does get very busy. An all-day ticket to the City costs $5.80.

If you are thinking on the lines that 30 minutes is a bearable commute time, it may be worth checking the VicTrip train timetables to see how far you can get in that time:

http://www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au/splash.php

Just a thought anyway...

Good luck with your plans!

Cheers,
Anya.

HiddenPaw

OK, haven't been living there for a year but I used to live 9kms east of Melbourne CBD (in Kew). It would take about 30-40 mins to get into the CBD (William St) in rush hour by car; same journey by tram was about 40-50 mins (again rush hour). I used to cycle in less than 20 minutes (door to door). When it rained, it could be horrendous - one night I cycled home in about 25 mins, while it took my husband an hour and 15 mins by car. Different routes in will have their own bottlenecks. My problem (by car)was firstly trying to get out of the bottom of my road onto Kew Junction and secondly getting across Hoddle St. That's why I cycled as many days as I could - so much quicker.

Outside of rush hour, I could generally get into the CBD in about 20-25 mins.

I found parking in Melbourne expensive. Although a fair few early bird car parks around at reasonable prices.

Smudgo

BP

I drive in from east melb into CBD & takes approx 45min and a bad day 1 1/2hrs thats is on the Tollway. Very Similar to M25 traffic except you have to pay for the queue.

Cheap parking in Melb before 9am try Crown Casino & walk into cbd

ta

Smudgo

Jaykay

I live in the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne and if I was to commute into the CBD it would probably take me about 50 minutes on the train to Flinders Street (and that's going through the loop).

Would not even consider driving into town....although judging by the daily radio updates, if I was to use the Eastern Freeway, it would take me about 30 minutes from Springvale Road, add to that another 20 minutes from home to Springvale Road, and however long to get from the end of the freeway into the CBD, which is probably the most congested.....so yeah, I wouldn't even consider driving.

For an all day train ticket from where I live, I think it costs about $11.00. This includes use of the trams and buses.

I'm quite lucky that I don't start work until 9.30am so I miss the majority of the peak hour traffic. I drive all the way to work using Maroondah Highway, and I've rarely seen it as congested as the UK. I think this is due to a few factors....mostly because it's a 3 lane highway most of the way.

Regards

Shellfish

It's not so much the traffic that bothers me in Melbourne but the aggressive nature of the drivers. I believe it's worse in Sydney

Shellfish

wrt distance, we live in Glen Iris (approx. 7 km's from the city) and it takes my hubby about 30 minutes to get to St Kilda road which isn't even in the city yet. On the other hand, I have a 15 minute train ride which is pretty much a pleasure (apart from the occassional cancellation).

renth

In Perth the train passangers on the packed morning rush hour trains all appear to have bathed within the last 24 hours which is more than I can say for the London tube.

Go Banana's !!

I shudder when I think about the tube :scared: I can almost remember the smells...............

Trying out Perth rush hour for the first time on Monday - will let peeps know how that goes

Jill

mlbonner

Same in Brisbane
Costs me $22 for a weekly pass (cheaper the longer you buy them for). There are regular trains and express trains so I can get into the city every 5 mins in about 20mins. It would probably take me 40mins to drive the same distance in the morning. Like everywhere there are bottle necks, the bridges tend to be quite bad in this area, as does the highway from Caboolture as it has varying speed limits and lanes go from 2 to 4 to 3!

unrefined_mind

I know this is not what people back in the UK want to hear - but rush hour traffic in Perth is pretty stuffed, The three main artery roads North (Mitchell freeway, Wanneroo Rd and Marmian Av) are very busy in the mornings and evenings, add a slight drizzle or a prang on any one of these artery’s and everything grinds to a halt.

Certainly in the Northern Suburbs in Perth problems are arising with all the major house building going on, although more and more people are buying blocks and building - the government (or Wanaroo Council) are not building more roads to compensate.

The Mitchell freeway heading North out of the City is almost laughable, converts into two lanes from three and then stops at Edgewater, I know plans are under way to extend the Freeway or widen it, but like everything in Australia, this may take some time, and even then don’t hold your breath.

One consolation is that the traffic in Perth is not as bad as Sydney, where somedays you can walk the entire lenth of George street to the other and still beat the bus!

nikkers

It took me 21/2 hours to get from Watford to Broxbourne yesterday

Its about 40 miles M25 and M1 only one junction on the M25


Nightmare! I am really hoping my journey will be better in OZ


Nikki x