Take a selfie on your commute on ‘National Suburbs to City Day’

The first ‘National Suburbs to City Day’ will document the morning commutes of many residents in capital cities across the country, from the City of Wanneroo in Perth to Penrith in western Sydney.

“The stories about stress, congestion and frustration with our roads and public transport are experienced in outer suburbs around the country,” says Mayor Tracey Roberts, who is the Deputy Chair of the National Growth Areas Alliance (NGAA).

“Residents have had enough of spending unnecessary hours sitting in traffic, or waiting for trains,” says Mayor Roberts, who represents the City of Wanneroo.

“These long commute times will be reduced dramatically if improvements to our public transport system and main roads are implemented,” says Mayor Roberts.

“People have chosen to live in our communities because of the fantastic lifestyle on offer, however fast-growing suburbs require vital infrastructure to keep up with the needs of an increasing population, ensuring the success of residential and business areas.”

Those affected are urged to take a selfie at the beginning and end of their morning commutes with comments about the time it takes – and share it on our Facebook page @FundourFutureAU and/or on Twitter, using the hashtag #FundourFutureAU They are also encouraged to take 20 seconds to sign the petition at www.fundourfuture.info

The NGAA and member councils are supporting the Fund our Future campaign, which calls for a national dedicated infrastructure fund to address the multi-billion dollar infrastructure backlog in these areas and future-proof them, as they continue to grow.

“The Federal Government and Opposition are talking about a goal to achieve ‘30 minute cities’, but for commuters who live in our suburbs, it can take much longer than that to get to work; our communities are more like 90-minute cities at the moment,” said Mayor Roberts.

“This social experiment will show Australia exactly how long commuters from our Northern suburbs spend in transit each day, and emphasise the urgent need for an infrastructure fund to serve the needs of our growing communities.”

Five million Australians already live in fast-growing outer suburbs around the country and this is predicted to rise to 7.5 million in just 15 years.

What: National Suburbs to City Day

When: 6-9am, Tuesday, 7 June, 2016

Where: On your morning commute

How to get involved: Those affected are urged to take a selfie at the beginning and end of their morning commutes (obviously respecting rules around phone use in cars) with comments about the time it takes – and share it on our Facebook page @FundourFutureAU and/or on Twitter, using the hashtag #FundourFutureAU They are also encouraged to take 20 seconds to sign the petition at www.fundourfuture.info