The 18 to 24 age band was the only group more likely to switch to public transport to beat congestion. It was also the likeliest to commit to cycling or walking to work to avoid driving in heavy peak-hour traffic. Older Australians have their hands firmly rusted onto the steering wheel, a new survey has found. Credit:Paul Rovere The survey results suggest that perceptions of worsening congestion are changing many Australians' commuting choices. More than two out of three people polled said they had changed their daily transport habits because of increased peak-hour congestion.

Among those who had stuck to their cars, this meant changing work hours, rat-running to avoid bottlenecks, or simply leaving home earlier to arrive at work at the same time. Changed travel patterns on Melbourne's West Gate Freeway since the beginning of major road works last month back up these findings. VicRoads said traffic volumes over the West Gate Bridge fell 15 per cent in the week after works began. Traffic volumes between 6am and 7am jumped three per cent as more people drove in to work earlier to avoid long delays. Meanwhile, traffic on freeway alternatives including Dynon Road, Footscray Road, Geelong Road, Flemington Road and Williamstown Road increased by between two and eight per cent, VicRoads said.

But a sizeable minority has given up or cut back on driving. Twenty-two per cent of survey respondents said increased congestion had prompted them to catch public transport more often, while about 12 per cent chose to walk and seven per cent to ride a bike. The online survey about people's attitudes to congestion polled 1012 people across Australia. Charles Karl, ARRB national technical leader of congestion, freight and productivity, said there was a clear generational difference in how Australians respond to traffic congestion. "While Gen Ys are happy to ditch their cars in favour of public transport, foot and pedal power, older generations have their hands firmly rusted onto the steering wheel, choosing to work longer hours to avoid the dreaded peak-hour crawl," Dr Karl said.

The research found that less than one in three people aged 45 to 65 were willing to leave the car at home, while three in four aged 18 to 24 had switched to public transport, cycling or walking at least once a week. Dr Karl said the survey results were a useful gauge of people's behaviour on the road, and pointed to potential behaviour-change tactics roads authorities could use to reduce congestion. "Apart from trying to finish off those missing links [on the roads] in our capital cities there is only so much you can do on the supply side, so we need to be smarter," Dr Karl said. He pointed to the example of the early bird free travel offer for people who catch public transport before 7am as an effective way to change commuting habits, but said roads lacked similar incentives. "The most effective is something that hits your hip pocket," he said.

Solutions most favoured by respondents included more peak-hour clearways, giving greater green-light priority to major thoroughfares (at the expense of side streets), putting extra lanes on main roads and creating more express bus and taxi lanes. Twenty-six per cent of respondents wanted more cycling lanes, while 24 per cent endorsed banning cycling and removing bike lanes from main roads.