Commuting pain more of a niggle

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Vote .Poll:

Do you agree with the IBM survey that a drive to work in Melbourne is a stress-free experience?

Yes or No

results

Yes

20%

No

80%

Total votes: 1935.

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MELBOURNE is second only to Sweden's capital Stockholm for a stress-free drive into work, a survey of 8200 motorists in 20 cities around the world has found.

IBM, which sells automated tolling, traffic prediction and congestion charging systems, has released its third 'commuter pain' survey.

Drivers in five continents were asked how stressful their drive to work was, and its impact on their health and lifestyle.

The survey ranked each city based on the economic and emotional toll of being stuck in traffic. Stockholm had the least painful drive of the cities studied, followed by Melbourne and Houston (ranked equal second), then New York City.

Twenty-six per cent of Melbourne drivers said there was nothing frustrating about their trips.

And the longest that drivers in Melbourne said they had been stuck in traffic, over the past three years, was 30 minutes - the shortest of any world city.

The morning gridlock on Melbourne's worst bottlenecks such as the West Gate or Bolte bridges or the Eastern Freeway, paled in comparison with Moscow, where drivers said they had been stopped in traffic for up to 2½ hours.

In Beijing, 248,000 new cars were registered in the first four months of this year. In that city, 69 per cent of drivers have encountered traffic so bad in the past three years that they turned around and went home.

Drivers across the globe were asked what they would do with their time if free-flowing traffic reduced their travel time: 16 per cent said they would spend more time at work.

IBM's John Hawkins said that while Melbourne had well-managed roads, a booming population would mean the challenge of keeping the city's roads working would get tougher.

'You can't build your way out of congestion, you build a new road or a tunnel and it gets filled,' Mr Hawkins said.

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released yesterday showed Melbourne's population was growing more rapidly than any city in the country.

Melbourne's population may be between 6.5 million and 7.5 million in 2051, the ABS predicted.

COMMUTER PAIN - SURVEY BY CITY

RATING (100 = worst traffic impact):

Beijing 99

Mexico City 99

Johannesburg 97

Moscow 84

New Delhi 81

Sao Paolo 75

Milan 52

Buenos Aires 50

Madrid 48

London 36

Paris 36

Toronto 32

Amsterdam 25

Los Angeles 25

Berlin 24

Montreal 23

New York 19

Houston 17

Melbourne 17

Stockholm 15

SOURCE: IBM commuter pain survey