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The restructuring of our cities that occurred in the age of cheap (er) fuel has a lot to answer for. People used to live very near where they worked but now they travel considerable distances. I'm not suggesting that living 500m from the gate of a filthy factory is the answer but when you hear of people commuting from Nowra to Sydney you know that isn't sustainable either.
I'd be interested to know what sort of km people who commute do each year. I'm luck enough (or well organised enough??) that I can walk to work or get on the free bus. My wife works from home or get the train to Sydney (we live 5 min from the station). Our car averages about 10,000km per year. Of that about a third will be on annual leave and much of the rest will be weekend trips or observing nights (a very small item recently). Only a minority is visiting friends/relatives or going shopping etc. That is why we can afford to run a 4WD which will take us to the places we like to visit on holidays.
I know organising life this way isn't easy and only a minority can achieve it at the moment. However we really must address the issues of (1) so many people traveling so far every day and (2) them being basically compelled to do it in such an inefficient manner.
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