Forced to public transport: Almost a third of Aussies are changing their driving habits as petrol prices explode

Exclusive: Almost a third of Australians are reducing the amount of time they drive, taking transport, or avoiding travel altogether as the war in Iran continues to push the price of fuel higher.

An exclusive Nine.com.au reader poll found 29 per cent of respondents changing their travel habits to save fuel even as prices continue to surge.

Many said they'd cut down on trips to the shops or to visit family and friends, and had started taking a train or bus to work instead of driving.

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"I'm now taking public transport even though its has tripled my travel time to work," one told nine.com.au.

Some said they'd stopped leaving home altogether except for the essentials.

"We live 30km from town on a farm, so we have restructured our trips to only go to town two times a week," one person said.

Nearly 70 per cent of respondents said they haven't changed their travel habits.

Some told Nine.com.au it just wasn't feasible for them to switch to public transport or cut down on private car travel.

"I'm only using the car to go to work and back [but] as I live out of town, public transport is not an option," one said.

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Petrol costs more than $2 a litre across most of Australia today and diesel hit a record three dollars a litre in some parts of the country over the weekend.

Of the 1009 respondents, nearly three in four said they are paying significantly more for petrol now than they were before the war in Iran began.

Another 16 per cent are paying slightly more, and only two per cent are paying the same.

Just under 10 per cent fell into the 'other' category.

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Most said they either don't own or drive a car, or own an electric vehicle (EV) that doesn't need petrol.

In fact, EV owners may be one of the few winners in this ongoing fuel crisis.

Unlike millions of Aussies whose vehicles rely on petrol to get around, EV drivers can simply plug in, recharge and keep driving without worrying about fuel prices.

The rest of the nation is increasingly concerned about what will happen if fuel prices don't drop soon.

About 85 per cent of nine.com.au readers confessed they're worried they won't be able to afford to fill up if petrol prices keep rising.

More than 40 per cent of them said they were "very worried".

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Only 13 per cent said they're not worried at all, many of whom don't drive or own EVs that don't require petrol.

Today the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) in NSW called on the state government to scrap fares on public transport to make it easier for motorists to make the switch.

The energy minister also flagged work from home as a 'sensible' option for millions of Aussies in the ongoing fuel crisis.

And on Saturday, the International Energy Agency issued a warning with 10 recommendations on how to manage the growing fuel crisis.

The world's energy watchdog encouraged Aussies to use public transport instead of private cars to quickly reduce oil demand.

The nine.com.au poll, which runs once a fortnight, canvases the views of the Nine audience on 9Nation, which is an online community of our readers and viewers.

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