Leave the car at home and save thousands - lobby group

Tuesday, 20 January 2015

Wellington commuters could save more than $10,000 a year by taking the bus or train instead of driving.

A new study, using data from the AA and KiwiRail, puts the average annual cost of running a car at $12,478. Relying on public transport instead could save the average Wellington commuter $10,586 a year, or $18,187 for Waikanae Beach commuters in large cars.

Even those who owned cars but travelled to work by train would save $3039 a year, according to the report by the Australasian Railway Association, an industry group whose members include KiwiRail.

'Every time you turn on the engine it costs you money, and I think people forget that,' ARA chief executive Bryan Nye said.

'I think people have a misconception about what it does cost.'

The study estimated the cost of the average commute, comparing driving to train travel.

Waikanae Beach commuters, who had the longest journey to and from Wellington of any metropolitan residents at 131 kilometres, were spending up to $21,773 a year if they owned and drove a large car to the CBD and back every day.

Running costs for a car included petrol, registration, maintenance and depreciation. They did not include non-compulsory insurance, toll road fees, or congestion costs.

'We were very conservative, because we didn't want people saying, 'You're not being factual',' Nye said.

Parking in the city was budgeted at $1000 a year, but in reality could cost motorists thousands of dollars more, he said.

The reliability of public transport was often held against trains and buses, but Nye said trains across Australia and New Zealand ran to schedule 93 per cent of the time.

'How often do you get into your car and know you're going to get to work on time 93 per cent of the time?

'We tend to think cars are reliable and trains are unreliable, but the reality is it's the other way around.'

Accidents were another mark against car travel, Nye said. 'It is safer to get public transport than it is to travel any other way.'

Waikanae lawyer Michael Scott has been converted to train travel after decades of driving to Porirua District Court each week. Scott had not taken the train for decades, but with his car in for repairs last Friday, he found he enjoyed zipping past drivers stuck in gridlock at Otaihanga and near Whenua Tapu cemetery.

'The whole stretch is colloquially described as the Whenua Tapu car park,' Scott said.

''I was chuckling like a hyena, I was feeling very smug.'

The $8 cash fare was about the same as it would cost to drive to Porirua, Scott said. Owning a car had advantages, however - air conditioning, listening to music aloud, and a way to get around if an earthquake or disaster struck the city, he said.

'Despite what KiwiRail say, they actually can't guarantee a train home,' he said.

Excluding petrol and parking, it cost the average Wellingtonian $4532 a year to own a small car such as a Mazda 2, or $10,367 for a large four-wheel-drive, such as a Toyota Land Cruiser, according to the ARA. On top of that, a small car cost 20.6 cents per kilometre, and a large car 33.2c.

'Owning a car is expensive,' AA spokesman Mike Noon said.

'But most people use cars for a variety of things, to get where they want to go, and when they want to go. To pick up groceries or drop kids off somewhere, which they can't do on public transport.'

COMMUTING IN WELLINGTON

Wellington has New Zealand's highest number of public transport trips per person per year - 72 in 2013, compared with 47 in Auckland and 20 in Canterbury

Driving is still the most popular method of getting to work, with 39,756 workers commuting by car every day

Owning and running a car cost the average Wellington commuter $12,478 a year, while commuting by public transport cost an average $1892 annually

Petrol and parking costs per year for a commuter from Waikanae to the CBD were $7456 for a small car, or $11,406 for a large car. The same commute by train or bus was $3286 for 11 monthly passes

Petrol and parking costs per year for a commuter from Johnsonville to the CBD: $1939 for a small car, $2513 for a large car. The same commute was $1197 for 11 monthly train passes, or $2420 for 11 monthly bus passes

Giving up the car completely in favour of public transport could save the average Wellingtonian $9065 a year

Leaving the car at home on weekdays alone could save $3039 a year

Source: Australasian Railway Association, Metlink