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Soaring petrol prices are killing the great Aussie tradition of solitary commuting in gas-guzzling family saloons.
Faced with relentless increases in fuel, Australians are changing the way they save and spend their money, with more households forced to bite into their savings to pay for essentials. But surveys indicate that the environment may benefit in the long run.
A picture of an Australia in crisis-fuelled transition has emerged from a series of surveys tracking the impact of petrol pump prices that Shell said yesterday averaged between A157.7c and A172.9 a litre in major cities.
Industry analysts predict that worse could be on the way. New figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics confirmed research by the AAMI insurance group that the nation was looking for ways to ease the pain.
The bureau reported that petroleum imports in May dived by 28 per cent compared with the same month last year, a fall CommSec economist Craig James described as "dramatic" and proof that higher prices were affecting consumer behaviour.
He told ABC radio: "Anecdotal evidence suggests that people are looking to public transport now, that they're using their cars less to go to the shops to buy a litre of milk or whatever."
AAMI research released yesterday said that while Australia had yet to see the start of a mass exodus from its freewheeling addiction to the car, the first signs of a change of heart were appearing. The number of commuters using cars to travel to work or school fell 4 per cent in the past year, while the number using public transport rose 3 per cent.
Melbourne's suburban commuter rail operator Connex has reported a 33 per cent rise in business in the past three years, pushed by rising petrol prices and growth of downtown.
Chief executive Bruce Hughes said the boom began around the time petrol prices topped A$1 a litre, adding to pressures on a system that was beginning to outstrip capacity.
AAMI said that 60 per cent of commuters still travelled to work by car, compared with 20 per cent who used public transport, 10 per cent who rode pushbikes and 2 per cent who rode motorcycles or scooters.
Most were deterred from public transport by failings in the system.
But AAMI's new green motoring index has indicated major shifts are under way.
The automotive industry has reported that in the past year sales of large family saloons have fallen by 20 per cent, matched by an almost identical rise in sales of light, small and medium-sized vehicles.
And public affairs manager Geoff Hughes said that while petrol-electric hybrid cars accounted for less than 1 per cent of car sales last year, sales of more efficient diesel vehicles rose to take 16 per cent of the market.
Car buyers were matching environmental concern to alarm at rising petrol prices, influencing their choice of vehicle and the way they drove.
"Motorists are increasingly aware that thinking green before choosing a new car can save many tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions over the vehicle's life and can also save them thousands of dollars in fuel costs."
Hughes said the AAMI index found that two in five Australians claimed to have consciously adjusted their driving behaviour.
