Car Sharing !

Sadly, any spectator taking the trouble to observe the great Sydney morning or evening commute will notice we still have a high proportion of cars crawling by - with just one occupant.  It does not take the need for a mathematical genius to see how car sharing could reduce the traffic numbers and speed the traffic flow.

The public transport lobby wants money diverted from roads to extend rail corridors and create more light rail and yet public transport seems mostly concerned with bringing workers into the city centre, and jobs have become much more diversified.  Public transport tends to diverge from the city without providing direct links between the outer suburbs.   Some public transport users have to travel to a rail hub and change trains to reach their objective.   The car provides a direct option.

The new Metro and extended use of the existing rail system, plus the return to trams to quickly move masses of people will certainly improve the cross city function but we still need an incentive to get more people interested in ride sharing.  In the past, ride sharing was often a means of avoiding the overcrowded public transport system entirely by finding a mutual way to the jobs of a diverse group of people.  The future may see more people looking for a comfortable and convenient way to travel from their homes - to the nearest public transport terminal.

The obvious hindrance is parking the car once that has been achieved.  Parking is the incentive that would make ride sharing attractive and obviously giving cars that arrive packed with people preference over those with a single occupant makes economic sense.  The close proximity parking around transport centres needs to be reserved for vehicles carrying four - or more - passengers.

To be effective, such a scheme would need rigid rules.  A simple permit sticker would be open to abuse.  Probably the simple solution would be to fill the available spaces with cars carrying a person in each available seating position ( Sports cars excluded ) but this would require a checking monitor at the entrance.  Provided spaces were available in reasonable numbers that incentive would suffice and those lacking the full compliment would know that entry would be refused.

Obviously, when a regular has to withdraw because of illness that car and its remaining passengers must suffer the inconvenience of having to find other parking, but when the rules that apply are clear and fairly enforced the opportunity is available to those who care to use it.

If we want more people in the cars on our roads, we need to provide a reason for owners to adopt that  ride sharing practice.