Indicator: HS-76 Vehicle kilometers travelled
Data
| 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passenger vehicles | 132706 | 141519 | 143925 | 144676 | 151743 |
| Motor cycles | 981 | 1135 | 1448 | 1681 | 1376 |
| Light commercial vehicles | 25374 | 27829 | 30728 | 31349 | 32671 |
| Rigid Trucks | 6486 | 6536 | 6627 | 7080 | 7768 |
| Articulated trucks | 5347 | 5578 | 5321 | 5425 | 5841 |
| Non-freight carrying trucks | 316* | 220* | 267* | 224 | 203 |
| Buses | 1843 | 1776 | 1835 | 1775 | 1893 |
| Total | 173053 | 184593 | 190152 | 192209 | 201497 |
* - estimate has a relative standard error of 10% to less than 25% and should be used with caution
Source: ABS, 2004, Survey of Motor Vehicle Use, Cat. No. 9208.0, p.11
| 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Train 1, 2, 3 | 156 | 171 | 176 |
| Passenger train 1, 2 | 99 | 106 | 113 |
| Tram | 23 | 24 | 24 |
|
|||
Source: Australian Transport Safety Bureau 2005, Rail Safety Investigation in Australia, Australian Transport Safety Bureau, Canberra, viewed 3 Nov 2006,http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/2005/Rail_safety_in_Australia.aspx.
| Passenger vehicles | 7.61 |
| Motor cycles | 0.07 |
| Light commercial vehicles | 1.64 |
| Rigid trucks | 0.39 |
| Articulated trucks | 0.29 |
| Non-freight carrying trucks | 0.01 |
| Buses | 0.09 |
| Total | 10.10 |
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2004, Survey of Motor vehicle use 2002-03, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2004, Estimated Resident Population data for September 2003, Canberra.
Growth in travel - Sydney Statistical Division 1991-2002 (Indexed at 1991)
Source: Transport and Population Data Centre 2004, Household Travel Survey Summary Report: Sydney, Newcastle, Illawarra, Transport and Population Data Centre, Sydney, viewed N/A, http://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/tpdc/pdfs/htsreport_2004.pdf.
| Capital city | Other urban areas | Other areas | Total intrastate | Interstate | Australia | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passenger vehicles | 11.7 | 7.4 | 9.9 | 14.5 | 6.8 | 15.1 |
| Motor cycles | 3.6 | 2.7 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 2.1 | 4.6 |
| Light commercial vehicles | 15.7 | 10.1 | 13.8 | 17.6 | 6.4 | 18.0 |
| Rigid trucks | 24.4 | 13.4 | 15.7 | 22.8 | 21.7 | 23.9 |
| Articulated trucks | 30.0 | 21.5 | 63.0 | 72.5 | 89.1 | 99.4 |
| Non-freight carrying trucks | 14.7 | 9.3 | 7.6 | 11.9 | 10.6 | 12.2 |
| Buses | 28.7 | 22.7 | 23.1 | 31.4 | 19.8 | 32.4 |
| Total | 12.3 | 7.9 | 11.2 | 15.2 | 8.2 | 15.9 |
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2004, Survey of Motor vehicle use 2002-03, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra
| 2002 | 2020 | Percent change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Car | Population (a) | Car (b) | Car (c) | Population | Car | 2002-2020 | |
| VKT/ person (000) |
(000) | VKT (m) | VKT/ person (000) |
(000) | VKT (m) | ||
| Sydney | 7.035 | 4 207.5 | 29 600 | 7.858 | 4 999.0 | 39 300 | 33 |
| Melbourne | 8.089 | 3 556.8 | 28 770 | 9.035 | 4 058.4 | 36 700 | 28 |
| Brisbane | 6.903 | 1 681.8 | 11 610 | 7.711 | 2 188.0 | 16 900 | 46 |
| Adelaide | 7.474 | 1 111.9 | 8 310 | 8.348 | 1 170.4 | 9 800 | 18 |
| Perth | 7.163 | 1 430.9 | 10 250 | 8.001 | 1 798.1 | 14 400 | 41 |
| Hobart | 7.155 | 193.0 | 1 381 | 7.992 | 187.7 | 1 500 | 9 |
| Darwin | 6.041 | 93.2 | 563 | 6.748 | 127.2 | 860 | 53 |
| Canberra | 8.962 | 318.0 | 2 850 | 10.011 | 354.9 | 3 550 | 25 |
| Metro | 7.412 | 12 593.0 | 93 334 | 8.279 | 14 884.0 | 123 200 | 33 |
| Rest of Australia | 8.886 | 7 026.0 | 62 436 | 9.994 | 7 885.0 | 78 800 | 26 |
| Total Australia | 7.940 | 19 619.0 | 155 770 | 8.870 | 22 769.0 | 202 000 | 30 |
(a) - Bureau of Transport and Regional Economics, 2003, Urban Pollutant Emissions from Motor Vehicles: Australian Trends to 2020. p 320-321
(b) - ibid. pp. 3-30
(c) - The Australia level per cent increase from 7.94 to near saturation at 8.87 is assumed to apply to each city. At the level of the 8 capitals, the increase from car travel per person is 12%, and from population 18.5%. The overall increase in Australia Metro car traffic is then (1.12 * 1.185-1.0)* 100 of about 33% in 18 years.
Source: Gargett, D, & Gafney, J, 2004, Traffic Growth in Australian Cities: Causes, Prevention and Cure, viewed N/A, http://www.btre.gov.au/docs/staffpapers/Traffic_Growth_in_Australian_Cities.pdf.
Average vehicle kilometre travelled (VKT) per person by Statistical Local Area of Residence - Sydney Statistical Division - 2001
Source: Travel and Population Data Centre 2005, Car travel in Sydney: Changes in the Last Decade, Travel and Population Data Centre, Sydney, viewed 24 Oct 2005, http://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/tpdc/pdfs/cartravelmar05_final.pdf.
- Survey of Motor Vehicle use (PDF - 1.2 KB)
- 2002 Household Travel Survey Summary Report (PDF - 974 KB)
- Rail Safety Investigation in Australia (PDF - 2.2 KB)
- Traffic Growth in Australian Cities: Causes, Prevention and Cure (PDF - 417 KB)
- Sydney Travels: Travel Characteristics of Sydney's Residents (PDF - 389 KB)
What the data mean
Total vehicle kilometres travelled by Australian vehicles reached 201 497 million in 2003, an increase of over 4% per year. Total kilometres travelled by train and tram for 2003 was about a thousandth of the total kilometres travelled by road transport.
Three quarters of the vehicle kilometres travelled on road were by passenger vehicles followed by light commercial vehicles and trucks (16%). The greatest increase was in travel by light commercial vehicles, a 7% increase per year between 1999 and 2003. Passenger vehicles showed a 14% increase in vehicle kilometres travelled.
On a per capita basis the highest vehicle kilometres travelled was by passenger vehicles (7.61); this was nearly five times that travelled by light commercial vehicles (1.64). The rates of growth in vehicle kilometres travelled continue to rise faster than population; for example, for Sydney the rates were, respectively, 2.2% and 1.2% per annum, for Newcastle 2.6% and 1.2% and for Illawarra 5.0% and 3.6% (Transport and Population Data Centre, 2004, pp. 25-40)
The average vehicle kilometres travelled by all vehicle types in capital cities was higher than those in either other urban areas or non-urban areas. Travel by passenger vehicles and light commercial vehicles was mostly within the state/territory while trucks and buses traveled most interstate.
Projections to 2020 suggest that car traffic volumes will be around a third higher in 2020 compared to 2002. This increase will be higher in metropolitan areas compared to non-metropolitan areas.
Vehicle kilometres travelled (VKT) per person increase with distance from the central business district (CBD) in large cities. In Sydney, the VKT varies from below 11km in the inner city suburbs to over 30 km towards the fringe.
Issues for which this is an indicator and why
Human Settlements — Liveability of human settlements - Transport and accessibility
Kilometres travelled is an indicator of the accessibility of work and services required by settlement residents.
Other indicators for this issue:Further Information
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