Student housing now, company villages later...

This article from the Sydney Morning Herald today reminded me of my harebrained thought that if the housing crisis and transport system got much worse, big companies would probably have to start buying up accommodation near their offices to house their workers.

In fact, the University of Western Sydney seems to be saying exactly that. The third paragraph of the above mentioned article says:

UWS has put forward a proposal for a five-day boarding complex to assist students living in the city who have to struggle with crowded public transport and congested roads to get to the campus.

University students may be a special case, in that they are paying to attend, rather than being paid. But I still think that the first company to buy or build an apartment block next to their offices and offer subsidised employee accommodation will be swamped with people wanting to sign up. And before you start accusing me of being some sort of Soviet sympathiser, think about this. Australians work more overtime than ever before. A commute of an hour each way is considered standard, even short in Sydney. If your employees live next door, that's nearly two extra hours unpaid overtime you could milk off them every day. Not to mention fewer sick days from viruses contracted on public transport.

I'm sure there's also scope for the enterprising large business with good lobbyist connections to claim these employees as a carbon credit, being as they are now walking to work rather than taking a car or public transport. Add to that the return on the investment in real estate and you'll be laughing. Businesses and employees both will be wondering why they didn't think of this sooner. We've been approaching this "work from home" idea entirely the wrong way around.

And there are myriad other ways this idea could be turned to a profit, too. For instance, the State Government could give big businesses tax credits to set up employee accommodation within walking distance from offices, benefiting both the business and also the State Government, which now does not need to spend money on new roadways or on upgrading public transport. In fact, not only do they not have to spend money, they don't even need to do anything! Now that's a realistic plan of action for the future. Not like that Metro lark, billions of dollars for very little result a long way off. Try a couple of million in tax concessions over a couple of years, and watch the congestion start to clear.

Public good aside, I don't think it would take very much to make company housing appealing to Sydney residents. Think of all the money you would save not having to take public transport every day, or not owning and running a car. Also, a critical mass of working age folk would make all sorts of company-supported (or even private) enterprises economic, like childcare centres. How difficult it is to find a childcare place is the second favourite whinge of Sydneysiders (with kids, obviously), after how hard it is to find an affordable home in the right location. Company subsidised child care facilities with guaranteed places for employees' children would be a very large carrot to offer employees.

So in summary, get off your lazy backsides, big business, and take some social initiative. Solve Sydney's transport/housing/everything crisis and reap the benefits for yourselves. Because it's obvious that nothing is going to be fixed by our State Government, which seems to be incapable of locating its arse even with the help of a very expensive GPS.