[This is an EXCERPT: read the original article at the Sydney Morning Herald. There's also good commentary and charts on The Oil Drum. This issue is close to home for any city with suburbs, especially as the US sees gas prices above $4/gallon in more and more places. -Ed.]

Families in west running on empty
by Jano Gibson

"SOARING fuel prices are carving into the budgets of car-dependent households in western Sydney, exacerbating problems of insufficient public transport options and long distances to workplaces."

"With fuel prices at about $1.50 a litre, households in the city's outer western ring - many of which are struggling with mortgage repayments - are sacrificing more than 6 per cent of their gross household income on petrol, [PhD student at the University of Technology, Sydney] Mr [Peter] Rickwood's research shows.

"Households in the inner city are using less than 2 per cent of their incomes on fuel."

"As rising fuel prices began to put the squeeze on family budgets, everything from doing volunteer work to driving to children's weekend sporting events could be affected, [Tony Hay, president of the Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils] said.

"'All the activities that make us a community, not just an economy, have the potential to be severely impacted.'"

Photo credit: Sneedle Flipsock