It’s time the motorcycle industry advertised the benefits of riding to work by motorcycle as commuting times have increased about a quarter across Australia in the past couple of decades.
The latest annual Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey shows Sydney commuters are the worst hit, while Brisbane’s commuting times have increase the most in the past 20 years.
Across the nation workers spend an average of 4.5 hours a week getting to and from work, which is up 23% since 2002.
Motorcycle retailers, distributors and importers should stop complaining about plummeting sales.
Instead, they should spend more money advertising how much quicker it is to commute by motorcycle, especially now that lane filtering is legal across the nation!
Two-wheel commuting benefits
Every commute is different, but travelling the 22km from my western Brisbane suburb to work in an inner-city suburb used to take me about 40 minutes by car and 30 on a bike (and that was before lane filtering was made legal).
So that’s a 25% time saving.
Across a week, that would be a saving of 50 minutes.
If there is an accident that brings traffic to a standstill, then a motorcycle will save you even more time.
And commuting by motorcycle makes you feel alive and vibrant so when you get to work your creative juices are flowing!
That is contrary to the survey which found workers with long commuting times arrived at work unhappy and unproductive.
Instead of promoting motorcycling, the experts are now calling for more money to be spent on public transport.
However, trains and buses are not near as convenient as a motorcycle that you can ride from door to door with handy, cheap or even free parking as an added bonus.
Imagine if the motorcycle industry began advertising the benefits of motorcycle commuting!
They could use date from the oft-quoted 2011 Belgian Transport and Mobility study that found if 10% of all private cars were replaced by motorcycles, it would reduce traffic congestion by 40%.
If 25% went from steering wheel to handlebar, traffic congestion would cease, it found.
Mean daily commuting times — there and back (minutes)
| Location | 2002 | 2005 | 2008 | 2011 | 2014 | 2017 | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney | 61 | 65 | 70 | 65 | 71 | 71 | 17 |
| Rest of New South Wales | 42 | 41 | 49 | 46 | 48 | 51 | 23 |
| Melbourne | 59 | 60 | 67 | 64 | 68 | 65 | 12 |
| Rest of Victoria | 36 | 38 | 51 | 48 | 46 | 46 | 26 |
| Brisbane | 46 | 55 | 56 | 63 | 62 | 67 | 45 |
| Rest of Queensland | 38 | 43 | 44 | 44 | 48 | 49 | 30 |
| Adelaide | 45 | 54 | 52 | 52 | 55 | 56 | 26 |
| Rest of South Australia | 29 | 35 | 30 | 34 | 36 | 42 | 43 |
| Perth | 50 | 50 | 57 | 56 | 59 | 59 | 19 |
| Rest of Western Australia | 26 | 44 | 36 | 39 | 40 | 43 | 65 |
| Tasmania | 43 | 47 | 41 | 43 | 44 | 42 | -2 |
| Northern Territory | 29 | 40 | 31 | 34 | 35 | 35 | 19 |
| Australian Capital Territory | 31 | 36 | 41 | 51 | 55 | 52 | 65 |