NRMA Study Finds Sydney ‘Rat-run Short-cuts’ Cost Time And Burn Fuel

The NRMA has set out to answer an age-old question with a new survey focusing on Sydney’s toll roads.

Some motorists believe the added distance from toll roads such as the M5, M7 and M2 counteract the perceived time-saving.

They therefore use a more direct route, or ‘rat run’ of back streets, which (some say) not only saves money by avoiding tolls, but can save time as well.

Using a group of researchers in identical cars with GPS tracking, travelling the same routes during morning and evening peak periods over six consecutive days, the NRMA set out to find if the 'rats' were onto something. 

The results are in, and the NRMA says the rat-run theories are a little short of the mark.

The motoring group’s survey found that toll roads could shave up to 75 percent from travel times against the free arterial roads, and drivers who choose the motorway can use up to 30 percent less fuel.

NRMA