Public transport’s modal share has barely increased

Advertisement

By Leith van Onselen

The ABS has released commuting data from the 2016 Census, which reveals that private vehicle transport continues to dominate Australians’ commute to work, with public transport’s share of commutes barely increasing:

Of the 9.2 million commuters on Census day, 79% travelled to work by private vehicle, 14% took public transport and 5.2% either cycled or walked. In addition to those who commuted on Census day, a further 0.5 million people worked at home and 1 million employed persons did not go to work on Census day. The strong preference towards private vehicles to journey to work echoes similar patterns observed in other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations, given that this mode of travel offers greater accessibility, flexibility and convenience relative to other modes. These proportions have changed little since 2011, except in New South Wales and Victoria where public transport usage has increased and car use has declined slightly.

The full text of this article is available to MacroBusiness subscribers

$1 for your first month, then:
Cancel at any time through our billing provider, Stripe
About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.