Sydney is approaching a tipping point that would see people abandon public transport and choose to drive to work as the city struggles to cope with population growth.
The stark warning from the chairman of Transport Management at Sydney University, Professor Stephen Greaves, comes as a new report shows Sydney lags comparable cities on congestion and commuting times.
“Public transport is struggling with capacity as passenger demand from new developments around train stations increases,” Professor Greaves said. “Sydney’s population is growing at a higher rate than many other global cities and we’re playing catch up.”
A study by international cities expert Professor Greg Clark for the Property Council of Australia found Sydney’s brand was “better than the product” because the city’s international reputation was superior to its actual performance against 300 benchmarks.
Just look at the crush-loading fly!
But if you think it’s bad now, just wait, because it is going to get a lot worse as Sydney’s population soars much further:
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And congestion rockets under every build-out scenario:
The quality of life enjoyed in Sydney and Melbourne for 200 years is literally being destroyed before our very eyes. And for what?
David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal.
He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.
