Slapping a $10 toll on the F6 extension could actually be a good thing for Wollongong.
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That’s the seemingly counter-intuitive thinking of Corey Middleton, who recently ditched his three-train two-hour commute to work in Mascot for a job closer to home.
He reckons the mooted $10 toll for the F6 extension – which equals $100 a week for a full-time worker – could see more people follow his lead.
“My old job, we had people coming in from western Sydney and it was costing them $80 to $100 a week to come in on the M4 or the M5 into Mascot,” he said.
“It was a huge consideration for those guys and they were still within the Sydney metropolitan area.
“So I know from experience that it weighs on people’s budgets and their thinking, having to throw $100 in tolls each week into the mix.
“People might start looking for jobs closer to home.”
While he knows some commuters wouldn’t have that option, if enough of the estimated 20,000 people who commuted to Sydney each day chose to work in the region, it could provide a boost to the local economy.
“Sydney versus Wollongong, the story is you always make more money in Sydney, but then the lifestyle down here is cheaper, it’s better – it’s all relative,” he said.
“What you make down here is enough to live down here.”
Not to mention the benefits the shorter commute brings.
Mr Middleton said his old two-hour commute meant he would often be exhausted when he arrived at his desk in the morning.
And it also affected his home life, especially in winter where it was dark when he left for work in the morning and dark when he returned in the evening.
“I was out the door before the kids had even woken up and I was getting home as they were falling asleep, if they weren’t already asleep,” he said.
“Saturday morning, I’d want to sleep in and I’d wake up cranky from the commute. It just wasn’t the quality of life with the family.”
He made the decision to work locally and managed to find a job a short walk from where his family was living in Fairy Meadow.
Even now, with the family moving to Unanderra, the commute takes just 10 minutes. He said now he gets to have breakfast with his family – and see the kids long before they go to sleep.
“And I’m far more productive in this role than I was in the last one because I’m ready to roll as soon as I walk in the door,” he said.