One in two residents of Australia’s five largest cities do not live within walking distance of public transport that is frequent enough for them to ditch their reliance on cars, new analysis has found, with lower-income suburbs worse off in all but one city.
The Climate Council analysis has revealed that more than 7 million people living in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide face huge barriers in choosing any transport option besides driving, leaving them with little choice but to consistently spend more money getting to work and moving around in general.
The green advocacy group has claimed the data makes the case for better investment in buses, trains and other public transport in Australian cities, which they insist will increase ridership as well as cut dangerous air pollution and emissions.
The analysis looked at the share of a population with convenient access to public transport that was frequent and reliable enough to get them out of cars, defined as an address within 800 metres or a 10-minute walk of a service that runs at least every 15 minutes between 7am and 7pm.
The analysis found 67.2% of Sydneysiders live in areas with access to this level of public transport service. This compares with just 33.7% of residents in Brisbane – a city which was last week ranked as having Australia’s worst traffic and the 12th worst in the world, as it prepares to host the Olympic Games in 2032.
In addition to providing more residents decent public transport access, Sydney has the highest population density of the cities analysed. But public transport access in Australia pales in comparison with global cities. Across New York City’s five boroughs, 82% of people live within 800 metres of a subway station, according to 2020 transit and census data.
Here’s how the cities were ranked.
1. Sydney
Residents of Sydney have by far the best access to public transport decent enough to rely on for commuting and other purposes, the analysis found. While access is best in the central business district, Botany and eastern suburbs, access is poorest in the Blue Mountains, Penrith and Campbelltown. Access to good public transport ends about 25km from the CBD for most people, according to the research.
Sydney is also the most equal city for access to all-day frequent public transport for residents of wealthy and lower-income areas, with almost equal rates of residents in these areas having such access to such services from their homes.
The higher levels of public transport services in Sydney was correlated with higher ridership, with 27% of residents using public transport to get to work while 62% drove. But data related to transport mode use was not part of the new analysis and was instead based on 2016 census results as the 2021 census results were affected by Covid restrictions.
2. Melbourne
Melbourne ranked as the second-best city in the analysis, with 52.5% of residents living within 800 metres of a public transport service that runs on average at least every 15 minutes between 7am and 7pm.
The CBD, Albert Park and South Yarra were the best-served areas, while Cardinia, the Mornington Peninsula and Fawkner were the worst. Access to good public transport was found to end about 15km from the CBD for most people.
Wealthier suburbs enjoy better access to good public transport in Melbourne.
Reliance on public transport in the city is also far lower than the figures for private cars, the older census data found. Just 18% of residents use public transport to get to work, while 71% use cars.
3. Adelaide
Adelaide placed third in the analysis, with 47.6% of residents living sufficiently close to frequent all-day public transport for them to ditch their cars. The CBD, Prospect and Walkerville and Unley were the best served suburbs, while Onkaparinga, Playford and Port Adelaide had the poorest services.
Access to good public transport was found to end about 8km from the CBD for most people, while the service gap between wealth and lower-income areas was 19% in favour of the former.
Public transport is used by 10% of Adelaide residents to commute to work, the census data showed, compared with an 80% reliance on private cars.
4. Perth
Perth ranked fourth among the cities, with 40.5% of residents living in areas within the threshold for access to all-day, frequent public transport. The best served areas were the CBD, Belmont/Victoria Park and Fremantle, while the worst served areas were Kwinana, Mandurah and Armadale.
Access to good public transport typically ends 12km from the CBD for most residents, while the service gap between wealthy and lower income suburbs is 18% in favour of the former.
Most Perth residents rely on cars to get to work, census data showed. Just 12% commuted to work by public transport, while 78% used private vehicles.
5. Brisbane
The analysis found Brisbane residents had the worst access to public transport of Australia’s five largest cities, with just 33.7% living within an 800-metre walk of a public transport service that runs at least every 15 minutes between 7am and 7pm.
Inner Brisbane, Annerley/Yeronga and Indooroopilly were the best served by public transport, while the Hills District, Browns Plains and Beenleigh were the worst. Access to good public transport services ends about 8km from the CBD for most people.
The service gap between wealthy and poorer areas was 27% in Brisbane in favour of the former.
Car use is high in Brisbane, with 75% of residents relying on private cars to commute to work, while 14% use public transport, according to census data.
Brisbane’s poor performance comes as traffic analysis from Inrix found Brisbane had Australia’s worst traffic in 2023, with congestion increasing 10% since the previous year.
The Queensland Labor government has made headlines before the state election in announcing a six-month trial of charging just 50c for all public transport trips in the state in a bid to get more commuters out of cars.
The Climate Council head of policy and advocacy, Dr Jennifer Rayner, said boosting public transport as well as active transport such as walking and cycling should be at the centre of the Albanese government’s Transport and Infrastructure Net Zero roadmap.
“More shared and active transport is a win-win for millions of people who live in our biggest cities that slashes climate pollution from transport, cuts the cost of living, makes our streets safer and less congested, and cleans up our air,” Rayner said.
The Climate councillor and public health physician Dr Kate Charlesworth said particulate pollution from cars has “adverse effects on our hearts and lungs, on pregnant women and children” and was estimated to be responsible for more than 11,000 premature deaths in Australian adults – 10 times more than the national road toll.
“We can prevent these harms by delivering better shared and active transport options so more people can leave their cars at home,” Charlesworth said. “We have everything we need right now to make our transport system cleaner and better.”
