Christopher Hughes
Research expert covering Australia and New Zealand
Public transport in Australia - statistics & facts
Transport in Australia is somewhat unique. The sheer size of the country and relatively sparse population distribution, plus the lack of high-speed, cross-country rail infrastructure creates both increased road use as well as a high demand for domestic aviation. When it comes to public transport, it is concentrated within the country’s cities; urban and light rail are present in most, and bus travel is also widely utilized. Sydney and Melbourne also benefit from having metro services, and Sydney and Brisbane also have ferries. Notably, Perth is the only major Australian city that lacks any light rail services as part of its infrastructure.
With transport affordability and emissions reductions becoming a bigger issue in Australia in recent years, accessibility to public transport may become a larger priority in major cities across the country.
Public transport patronage
Sydney had by far the highest number of public transport trips undertaken in a calendar year, with more than 500 million trips taken across its entire transport network. Most of these trips took place on the city’s suburban trains and bus services, with only a relatively small number taking place using light rail, the Sydney Metro, or ferry services per capita. It’s a similar story in Melbourne, with over 400 million trips undertaken across every public transport service in the city. Here though, suburban trains and light rail had a similar number of trips undertaken per capita.Cost and affordability of transport
With an average weekly public transport cost per household of around 60 Australian dollars, Brisbane proved to be the city with the most expensive public transport. Melbourne and Sydney were next, with an average weekly cost of around 50 Australian dollars per household. When looking at all transport methods, transport costs in both Brisbane and Melbourne accounted for just under 20 percent of household income, however, costs in Sydney only accounted for around 15 percent of household income. The annualized figures reflect this, with transport costs in Melbourne and Brisbane coming in at around 30 thousand Australian dollars per year, and costs in Sydney a little less at just over 27 thousand Australian dollars.With transport affordability and emissions reductions becoming a bigger issue in Australia in recent years, accessibility to public transport may become a larger priority in major cities across the country.
