The insane reason an Aussie family was forced to take a trolley-load of groceries home on the TRAIN
A Sydney family seen wheeling a packed shopping trolley onto a train has highlighted a major problem with new housing estates in the city's western suburbs.
Three men and a woman were filmed boarding a train with a Woolworths trolley piled high with groceries with the caption: 'Western Sydney things'.
Aussies were divided over the video, with some criticising the shoppers for taking the trolley beyond the supermarket's boundaries.
But, Sebastian Pfautsch, the Professor of Urban Planning and Management at Western Sydney University, said the planning of new suburbs, such as Schofields and The Ponds, are built around the assumption of 'total car dependency'.
This means households without a car are disadvantaged when it comes to running errands such as the weekly shop and have to resort to public transport.
'This presumption allows government to implement minimum retail space inside settlements and very limited public transport options, and supports developers to focus on maximising profits from land sales,' Prof Pfautsch told Daily Mail Australia.
'Not every family can afford two cars, or even wants them for a number of reasons, and if one member of the family needs the car for commuting, the other family member needs to deploy other means of transport when getting groceries.'
Prof Pfautsch also highlighted a lack of local infrastructure, such as corner stores, in these newer communities.
A family were seen taking a Woolworths trolley full of groceries onto a Sydney train (pictured)
'Nobody walks to get the newspaper, you get it on your phone. And you jump into the car to quickly get a litre of milk or pick it up on your way back from work,' he said.
The professor believes that more thoughtful urban planning could ease the pressure on households and reduce short car trips.
'Including more retail space inside housing developments would be one way to push back on short car trips to the shopping centre,' he said.
'Providing better public transport in the new settlements would help those that operate with one car in the family.'
Some Aussies sympathised with the men in the video.
'Back when I was young and poor(er) this was very much a thing... Never took [a trolley] on the train though,' one user admitted.
'Was broke during uni and had no car, no taxi fare, and no direct bus from the shops to my flat. If I hadn't used a trolley, I would've been so screwed,' another shared.
A third recalled: 'We moved a fridge and washing machine through the inner Sydney train system on shopping trolleys back in the share house days'.
Car-centric planning in Western Sydney's new estates is being blamed for poor infrastructure
But others slammed the use of a trolley at a train station.
'Old lady trolleys or beach trolleys are so cheap. There's no need to steal shopping trolleys,' one person commented.
'They'll leave that trolley on the footpath with six others from the past couple of trips for sure,' a second assumed.
'Love seeing random shopping trolleys strewn across neighbourhoods. Great for the streetscape when they inevitably get filled with garbage,' a third said.
Transport for NSW has urged commuters to not bring trolleys on board.
Telling Daily Mail Australia 'Shopping trolleys from supermarkets are not permitted on station platforms or onboard metro or train services.'
They warned of safety risks, stating 'Supermarket trolleys present a safety hazard. They can impact the safety of train operations if they are on the edge of the platform as the train comes in or if they roll/fall onto the tracks.'
Meanwhile, Woolworths acknowledged that some customers take trolleys beyond shopping centres, telling Daily Mail Australia 'We understand abandoned trolleys can be a nuisance, and that's why we invest millions in collection services.'
