Clogged city: Why Ross drove from Richmond-Williamstown, then gave up

On a good day it can take less than 20 minutes.

But on Friday evening, it took Ross Stevenson 1.5 hours to drive from Richmond to Williamstown.

He was attempting to head away for a weekend in the country, but with two young children in the back seat and no sign of the congestion abating, Ross turned the car around and headed back home.

The boys were subsequently inundated with calls and emails with similar stories in recent times, including a five-hour trip from Melbourne to Apollo Bay.

It prompted a discussion about the state of Melbourne’s traffic, which included the RACV calling for big changes.

“Melbourne’s congestion is just getting worse and worse and it’s a simple tale of a complicated tale,” RACV transport expert Peter Kartsidimas told 3AW Breakfast.

“We’ve had roughly 50 per cent (population) growth in 20 years, and it’s only getting worse.

“The way we’re trying to solve the problem has to be re-thought — just trying to build more roads is not going to solve the problem.”

As such, Mr Kartsidimas wants to see new charges for driving in certain areas.

“Absolutely we should be looking at something like (London’s congestion tax), but we would say something a bit more sophisticated … not just for trips into the CBD.

“It means you’ll have more certainly in your trips.”

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(Photographer: Carla Gottgens/Bloomberg via Getty Images)