Tag Archives: alan evans

Your fuel alternatives

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In his column in the June edition of the Open Road e-zine, NRMA President Alan Evans discusses the need for real fuel alternatives so Australian motorists do not have to rely so heavily on petrol.

“The time has come for Australia to reduce its dependence on the petroleum industry once and for all,” Mr Evans says.

Australian motorists are enduring one of the most dramatic jumps in petrol pricing ever seen, with petrol reaching record highs. And, with petrol prices predicted to hit 170 cents per litre within weeks, things are only going to get worse.

Most manufacturers are developing vehicles run on hybrids and, to a lesser extent, alternative fuels in response to rising oil prices and pressure to go ‘green’. Last month, the world’s first mass-produced petrol-electric hybrid, the Toyota Prius, reached a million worldwide sales. Toyota has also announced it will begin production on a hybrid Camry sedan here in Australia in 2010. BMW is busy developing engines that run on alternative fuels, recently unveiling a hydrogen-powered 7-series sedan at the 2008 SAE World Congress.

But is the matter being addressed with the urgency it deserves? Real fuel alternatives are still in the developmental stages, meaning we’ll have to endure ever-increasing petrol prices for a few more years at least.

What fuel alternatives would you like to see? Will you be catching public transport more than you used to or do you have your own way of minimising your dependence on petrol?

Overcharging for petrol

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ACCC petrol commissioner Pat Walker last week revealed Coles Express service stations are the most expensive.

According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s survey, Coles Express had the highest petrol prices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide. Mr Walker said the commission had identified about 30 Coles Express sites in Sydney that were selling petrol for 155.9 cents a litre, when the average price was 143.3 cents a litre. According to News.com.au, Coles was selling petrol in Melbourne for up to 14 cents more than the city’s average.

Mr Walker advised motorists to shop around for the best price, as those who use shopper dockets may not be getting the discount they think they are.

“It is important that consumers do not automatically rely on their petrol discount voucher to necessarily deliver the lowest price,” he said.

NRMA President Alan Evans said, “The Petrol Commissioner has done well to catch and shame Coles for their over-pricing; he now needs the powers to do something about it.”

Mr Evans said that bad press alone is not enough, as oil companies have grown immune to it. He believes the Commissioner’s powers must therefore be extended so he can:

  • • Force oil companies to drop their prices when they are over-inflated;
  • • Force oil companies to artificially keep their prices down to compensate motorists who have been over-charged;
  • • Fine oil companies.

Have you noticed some service stations regularly being more expensive than others?

Would you catch the train if you could Park and Ride?

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A new report from NRMA Motoring & Services has found that the main reason motorists don’t catch the train to work is due to a lack of sufficient and secure parking facilities at train stations.

43 per cent of those surveyed said they would use ‘Park and Ride’ facilities if they were provided. But the report found that some of the busiest stations in NSW are severely lacking in adequate parking:

  • • Strathfield 23 spaces – 10,700 commuters. 
  • • Hornsby 350 spaces – 7,290 commuters.
  • • Parramatta 780 spaces – 15,190 commuters.
  • • Bankstown 170 spaces – 4,720 commuters.
  • • Kogarah 330 spaces – 6,770 commuters.

“More than 80 per cent of motorists currently drive to work – we could get that number down considerably if motorists were given the option of driving to the station and parking in a secure, well-lit parking space,” NRMA President Alan Evans said.

He said it would be a great way to get motorists off the road and onto trains, reducing traffic congestion and pollution.

Transport Minister John Watkins said the NSW Government is expanding park and ride facilities at Seven Hills, St Marys, Glenfield, Werrington, Holdsworthy, Blacktown and Wenthworthville.

The report also showed that some of Sydney’s busiest stations don’t have any ‘Kiss and Ride’ areas – legal and safe areas for dropping off and picking up that would allow people to get a lift to the station rather than drive.

Would you catch a train to work if there were proper parking facilities at the train station?

NSW fine revenue figures

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A News Limited investigation has found the NSW Government made $312 million in revenue from motorists in the last financial year. Six years ago the figure was less than half that, at $118 million.

Speed and red light cameras, police-issued speeding fines, parking fines and general traffic offences have all contributed to the figure, as well as rising fine costs.

In the six year period, the number of licensed drivers rose by almost half a million, from 3.6 million to 4.03 million. Despite the increase in road users, last year’s road toll was the state’s lowest since World War II, with 445 deaths.

Roads Minister Eric Roozendaal credited the tough law enforcement as the reason for the low road toll, saying the number “shows our strategies are working.”

NRMA Motoring & Services President Alan Evans disagreed, saying that the low road toll was thanks to “better drivers, better cars and better roads.”

Are the heavy penalties saving lives? Are the figures a reflection of our driving ability? Or are motorists just being bullied?

Epping Road’s cycleway – good, bad or mad?

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NRMA Motoring & Services’ President Alan Evans last week questioned the logic and safety of the proposed $7.5 million cycleway on Epping Road (SMH 14/01/08). Given that only a small number of cyclists use it, compared with the 35,000 cars each day, he said that motorists face severe congestion between Mowbray and Longueville Roads when Epping Road is converted to a singe lane of traffic, a bus lane and a cycleway.

Alan Evans states that the NRMA supports cyclists where it is safe but “imposing cycleways on major arterial roads and worsening traffic congestion in the process simply does not make sense.”

He believes that placing the cycleway next to a heavily congested arterial is not the best or safest option for Epping Road. The cycleway could create more congestion by constricting the width and number of traffic lanes. If there is a crash in the Lane Cove tunnel and traffic is diverted to the single lane on Epping Road, cars and buses could be queued back to the city.

Some of the NRMA’s suggestions forwarded to the RTA include converting the bus lane into a T2 lane to encourage car pooling and widening the traffic lanes.

Have your say about the planned cycleway for Epping Road.

Read the full article here