Households getting more cars

Cars are Auckland's main source of air pollution. Photo / Herald on Sunday

Thirty-five new cars come on to Auckland roads every day - and a growing number of households have more than two cars.

We travelled 9 per cent more kilometres by car in 2008 than in 2004 - despite public transport use also rising - and ARC environmental science project leader Grant Barnes said about 17 per cent of households now had three or more cars.

The Iese family from central Auckland's Avondale say they could not manage without their four cars.

Daughter Helen Elia and her husband own a Honda CR-V. They live with Helen's father who owns a Mitsubishi pickup truck and her mother drives a seven-seater Nissan Prairie mini-van. A sister and partner also have a Mitsubishi Stager.

Mrs Elia says with work, children to pick up, church commitments and rugby training, the family depend on having four vehicles.

"We have tried to cut down on cars, but even with one less car, it was really difficult for us - we all have different commitments."

Mrs Elia said the family had never discussed what having four vehicles - three of them large ones - was doing to the environment.

Some had tried carpooling to work, but that stopped as colleagues lived too far away.

Public transport also proved to be unsuitable, as bus times did not suit when an adult needed to be home with the children.

The report also showed cars were Auckland's main source of air pollution, which cost an estimated $547 million yearly in health impacts. Auckland had around 30 days of "brown haze" from pollution a year.

Mrs Elia said: "I don't think many people care about the environment. I think they just think about the easiest [options] for their family. That's priority."

Meanwhile, national figures showed car ownership was rising and people were also choosing bigger cars.