The article said Illawarra Mercury were making that choice even if they lived within one kilometre of a train station.

Peta Fitzgerald said the article coincided with the release of The Greater Illawarra: The Smart Growth Agenda report commissioned by the Illawarra chapter and conducted by social planning consultants Judith Stubbs and Associates.

That research looked at commuting in the Illawarra and the need for infrastructure upgrades,  particularly to the rail line to bring it to under an hour between Wollongong and Sydney.

Ms Fitzgerald said the Transport NSW figures reinforced the need for better public transport within the Illawarra and the connection to Sydney.

‘‘The increasing commute times mean people choose to drive instead of catching the train to try and save time each day,’’ she said.

‘‘Our research backs this up. It shows that there is a huge reliance in the Illawarra on commuting to Sydney. The private car remains the most important mode of travel for Sydney-bound commuters (around 76 per cent of commuters compared with 22 per cent travelling by train) although commuting by train becomes far more important closer to Sydney.’’

The report showed commuting had accelerated in the past five years with 40 per cent of new workers in the region commuting to Sydney.

Overall around 20 per cent of workers in the region commute.

Broken down further into the Wollongong local government area the research shows 50 per cent of new workers commute.

‘‘Despite the large numbers commuting to Sydney, the further away from Sydney a commuter lives the less likely they are to use the train,’’ Ms Fitzgerald said.

The recent study found the commuters thought travel times were too long and commute times were actually increasing in time rather than decreasing.

As a result the Property Council’s Illawarra chapter would like to see the mainline acceleration program become a reality.

The ultimate outcome would be to get train travel to under one hour between Wollongong and Sydney.

Local councils and politicians were recently handed copies of the Property Council report.