Adelaide the most car-reliant city in the nation, its citizens eschewing public transport
AFFORDABLE all-day CBD parking is turning commuters away from public transport as new figures show Adelaide is Australia's most car-reliant city.
The RAA says employers should reduce the number of salary packages involving cars which are part of a workplace fleet, to help stem the number of vehicles entering the CBD.
Latest Census figures show nearly two-thirds, or 64 per cent, of Adelaideans drive to work - the most of any capital city. RAA public affairs senior manager Matthew Hanton said the cheaper cost of all-day carparking in the CBD, which ranges mostly between $12 and $15, compared to other capital cities did nothing to dissuade commuters from driving to work.
"There is a lot of parking space in the city," Mr Hanton said.
"There is an appetite there for people to use public transport but the current system is just not meeting their needs."
Mr Hanton said the cost of all-day parking should be increased after public transport services became more reliable and efficient.
He suggested a mix of other measures to boost public transport patronage, including decreasing the cost of public transport fares and providing more cross-suburb services for commuters to travel from one side of town to another, rather than being forced to travel into the city and board another service.
Figures obtained by The Advertiser in August showed public transport patronage had slumped by 2.44 million boardings in the past year.
The relatively cheap early-bird rates across CBD carparks, which would cost a Monday to Friday worker as little as $57.50 a week, compare with an adult 10-trip multi-trip ticket cost of $31.90.
"A lot of people who are time-poor would rather pay the money to park. The cost (of public transport) is definitely something that needs to be looked at."
Lord Mayor Stephen Yarwood said Adelaide City Council, which owns nine UParks, had no plans to increase the cost of all-day parking to deter commuters from driving.
A spokeswoman for Transport Services Minister Chloe Fox said the Government was working to provide commuters with a more modern, efficient and reliable public transport system.
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