State of the Environment

2006

Indicator: HS-20 Journey to work modal split

Data

Main form of transport used to travel to work or study
Australia – 1996-2003
Capital Cities Rest of Australia Australia-wide
('000) % ('000) % ('000) %
Mar 2003
Private vehicle
   Car/truck/van - driver 3957.9 67.9 2259.3 75.0 6217.3 70.3
   Car/truck/van - passenger 207.7 3.6 167.5 5.6 375.2 4.2
   Motorbike/scooter 21.9 0.4 33.6 1.1 55.4 0.6
   Total 4187.5 71.8 2460.4 81.7 6647.9 75.2
Public transport
   Train 562.2 9.6 33.2 1.1 595.4 6.7
   Bus 337.7 5.8 38.1 1.3 375.8 4.3
   Tram/Light rail 72.8 1.2 0.0 0.0 72.8 0.8
   Ferry/boat 18.0 0.3 2.6 0.1 20.5 0.2
   Total 990.7 17.0 73.9 2.5 1064.5 12.0
Taxi 7.7 0.1 1.8 0.1 9.5 0.1
Bicycle 63.0 1.1 43.4 1.4 106.3 1.2
Walk 209.5 3.6 133.9 4.4 343.5 3.9
Other 0.0 0.0 5.2 0.2 5.2 0.1
Do not travel (work/study at home) 371.0 6.4 293.6 9.7 664.6 7.5
Total persons 5829.4 100.0 3012.2 100.0 8841.6 100.0
Mar 2000
Private vehicle
   Car/truck/van - driver 4097.2 70.2 2442.6 75.9 6539.8 72.2
   Car/truck/van - passenger 259.6 4.4 198.2 6.2 457.9 5.1
   Motorbike/scooter 36.5 0.6 29.6 0.9 66.0 0.7
   Total 4393.3 75.2 2670.4 82.9 7063.7 78.0
Public transport
   Train 602.8 10.3 20.8 0.6 623.6 6.9
   Bus 315.9 5.4 43.7 1.4 359.7 4.0
   Tram/Light rail 50.1 0.9 0.0 0.0 50.1 0.6
   Ferry/boat 12.6 0.2 3.0 0.1 15.7 0.2
   Total 981.4 16.8 67.5 2.1 1049.1 11.6
Taxi 7.0 0.1 2.2 0.1 9.1 0.1
Bicycle 44.6 0.8 53.7 1.7 98.4 1.1
Walk 195.8 3.4 182.9 5.7 378.7 4.2
Other 12.3 0.2 12.0 0.4 24.2 0.3
Do not travel (work/study at home) 206.0 3.5 230.6 7.2 436.6 4.8
Total persons 5840.3 100.0 3219.4 100.0 9059.7 100.0
Apr 1996
Private vehicle
   Car/truck/van - driver 3668.8 69.6 2097.6 70.9 5766.4 70.1
   Car/truck/van - passenger 248.6 4.7 165.6 5.6 414.2 5.0
   Motorbike/scooter 40.1 0.8 45.0 1.5 85.1 1.0
   Total 3957.5 75.0 2308.2 78.1 6265.7 76.1
Public transport
   Train 502.9 9.5 17.2 0.6 520.0 6.3
   Bus 282.1 5.3 67.8 2.3 349.8 4.2
   Tram/Light rail 30.2 0.6 0.0 0.0 30.2 0.4
   Ferry/boat 16.2 0.3 0.0 0.0 16.2 0.2
   Total 831.4 15.8 85.0 2.9 916.2 11.1
Taxi 7.3 0.1 8.4 0.3 15.6 0.2
Bicycle 81.5 1.5 67.0 2.3 148.5 1.8
Walk 177.3 3.4 174.2 5.9 351.6 4.3
Other 6.8 0.1 18.4 0.6 25.4 0.3
Do not travel (work/study at home) 212.6 4.0 295.7 10.0 508.3 6.2
Total persons 5274.7 100.0 2956.8 100.0 8231.4 100.0

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2005

Reasons for travelling to work or study by public transport
Australia – 1996-2003
Capital Cities Rest of Australia Australia-wide
('000) % ('000) % ('000) %
Mar 2003
Doesn't own motor vehicle 304.1 30.7 27.2 36.8 331.2 31.1
Parking problems 306.3 30.9 6.0 8.1 312.3 29.3
Convenience/comfort/less stress 287.2 29.0 21.6 29.2 308.7 29.0
Cost 261.9 26.4 17.5 23.7 279.4 26.2
Proximity of home to public transport 207.0 20.9 2.8 3.8 209.8 19.7
Reduced travel time 130.5 13.2 1.3 1.8 131.8 12.4
Cannot drive/unlicensed 107.0 10.8 13.6 18.4 120.6 11.3
Other household member uses car 56.3 5.7 6.8 9.2 63.1 5.9
Frequency of service 55.3 5.6 2.8 3.8 58.0 5.4
Environmental concerns 35.4 3.6 2.3 3.1 37.7 3.5
Personal safety 12.1 1.2 2.7 3.7 14.8 1.4
Other 43.3 4.4 11.4 15.4 54.6 5.1
Total persons 990.7 100.0 73.9 100.0 1064.6 100.0
Mar 2000
Does not own a motor vehicle 325.4 33.2 32.6 48.3 358.0 34.1
Parking problems 325.4 33.2 8.2 12.1 333.6 31.8
Cost 270.7 27.6 12.4 18.4 283.1 27.0
Proximity of home to public transport 299.1 30.5 9.7 14.4 308.8 29.4
Reduced travel time 175.1 17.8 3.3 4.9 178.4 17.0
Other household member uses vehicle 64.1 6.5 5.2 7.7 69.4 6.6
Frequency of service 94.4 9.6 6.2 9.2 100.6 9.6
Environmental concerns 18.3 1.9 0.4 0.6 18.7 1.8
Personal safety 15.6 1.6 3.8 5.6 19.4 1.8
Habit 14.2 1.4 0.0 0.0 14.2 1.4
Other 125.3 12.8 16.7 24.7 142.0 13.5
Total persons 981.4 100.0 67.5 100.0 1049.0 100.0
Apr 1996
Do not own motor vehicle 268.9 32.3 43.6 51.3 312.5 34.1
Parking problems 199.2 24.0 8.8 10.4 207.9 22.7
Cost 244.4 29.4 18.9 22.2 263.3 28.7
Proximity of home to public transport 153.6 18.5 10.4 12.2 164.0 17.9
Reduced travel time 115.2 13.9 2.8 3.3 117.9 12.9
Other household member uses vehicle 60.5 7.3 7.6 8.9 68.1 7.4
Frequency of service 50.8 6.1 0.3 0.4 51.1 5.6
Environmental concerns 45.6 5.5 0.8 0.9 46.4 5.1
Personal safety 6.3 0.8 2.3 2.7 8.6 0.9
Habit 5.5 0.7 0.3 0.4 5.7 0.6
Other 187.5 22.6 17.5 20.6 205.0 22.4
Total persons 831.4 100.0 85.0 100.0 916.4 100.0

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2005, Reasons for travelling to work or study by public transportAustralia - 1996-2003, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra.

Reasons for not using public transport on travel to work or study
Australia – 2003
Capital Cities Rest of Australia Australia-wide
('000) % ('000) % ('000) %
Mar 2003
No service available 826.9 18.5 1312.0 49.7 2138.8 30.1
No service available at right/convenient time 1007.9 22.6 593.1 22.5 1601.1 22.5
Takes too long 1272.9 28.5 211.1 8.0 1483.9 20.9
Walk/cycle 221.6 5.0 73.0 2.8 294.5 4.1
Concerned about personal safety 108.5 2.4 11.0 0.4 119.5 1.7
Cost considerations 110.3 2.5 35.9 1.4 146.2 2.1
Own vehicle needed before/during/after hours 575.1 12.9 200.6 7.6 775.7 10.9
Company or employers vehicle needed during work/study hours 293.0 6.6 91.6 3.5 384.6 5.4
Comfort/privacy 390.7 8.7 131.3 5.0 522.0 7.3
Carry equipment/tools/passengers 214.3 4.8 74.6 2.8 288.9 4.1
Reliable parking space at work/study 49.6 1.1 8.8 0.3 58.4 0.8
Other 252.0 5.6 75.8 2.9 327.8 4.6
Total persons 4467.6 100.0 2639.5 100.0 7107.1 100.0

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2005

Purpose of travel on an average weekday Sydney - 1999-2002

Purpose of travel on an average weekday Sydney - 1999-2002

Source: Transport and Population Data Centre 2004, 2002 Household Travel Survey Summary Report: Sydney, Newcastle, Illawarra, Transport and Population Data Centre, Sydney, viewed 29 Nov 2005, http://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/tpdc/pdfs/htsreport_2004.pdf, p. 7

Reasons for using car to travel to work Sydney - 2002

Reasons for using car to travel to work Sydney - 2002

Source: Transport and Population Data Centre 2004, 2002 Household Travel Survey Summary Report: Sydney, Newcastle, Illawarra, Transport and Population Data Centre, Sydney, viewed 29 Nov 2005, http://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/tpdc/pdfs/htsreport_2004.pdf, p. 11

What the data mean

Three-quarters of all persons travelling to work or study used private vehicles in March 2003 while only around 12% used public transport. A little over 1% walked while 7.5% worked or studied at home. There has been very little change between 1996 and 2003 in the proportion of people using different modes of travel.

Private vehicle usage for travel to work and study was higher (82%) outside the capital cities, compared to within capital cities (72%) while public transport usage was lower: 2.5% outside capital cities compared to 17% in capital cities.

The main reasons for using public transport included lack of own motor vehicle, parking problems and cost. Lack of services, lack of services at the right/convenient time and journey time were cited as reasons for not using public transport by persons surveyed in 2003. Nearly half of all persons travelling to work or study in rural areas used private vehicles due to lack of public transport services.

The principal initiators of travel within cities (e.g. in Sydney) are dominated by non-work activities, such as social and recreational, shopping, personal business, and educational and childcare activities.

Issues for which this is an indicator and why

Human Settlements — Liveability of human settlements - Transport and accessibility 

Data on the modal split of journey to work assists in understanding the pattern of private and public transport use. This pattern depicts how accessible public transport is and how well public transport meets the need of commuters. This pattern is also related to the traffic congestion in inner city areas and to localised air pollution.

Other indicators for this issue:

Further Information

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