Canberrans are the least likely to take public transport, carpool or use car shares of residents in any Australian capital city, a new report has found.
The nation's capital has rated last on shared transport use in a national energy report from the Climate Council, with just 3.1 per cent of travel in the territory on public transport or shared vehicles.
Low use of shared transport is mainly due to limited services in outer suburbs, leaving Canberrans reliant on their cars, the report found.
Trailing in shared transport use
Sydney is the top capital for shared transport use, with 13.1 per cent of travel happening on the city's buses, trains and metro. Melbourne rated second with 8.5 per cent, followed by Brisbane at 6.1 per cent.
The Climate Council's research examined Australia's advances towards renewable energy, focusing on transport trends and energy production in each state and territory.
CEO Amanda McKenzie said it examined the Canberra transport network and its availability for people as part of the study.
"The ACT has done a bunch of work in the city of Canberra with the light rail, making it accessible for people, but there continues to be a lot to do in ensuring the outer suburbs of Canberra are connected to transport," she said.
"Shared transport isn't just public transport, it could be carpooling, it could be shared vehicles, it could be Ubers, there's a whole range in which we can share transport.
"In the same way we might use a computer, an iPad and a phone, it's about giving people a number of different options that allows people to make that shift to sustainable transport."
Leader in EV ownership
In contrast, the ACT is leading the country in electric vehicle use with 6.8 EVs registered per 1000 people, several times the number of other states.
The closest competitor is Queensland, with 3.1 vehicles registered for every 1000 people, followed by Victoria with three vehicles.
The Northern Territory trails behind the rest of the country with just one vehicle registered for every 1000 people.
More than 20 per cent of new vehicles sold in the ACT are electric in 2024, the report noted, with the territory's emissions-based car registration system making fuel-efficient vehicles more affordable.
It's no surprise for Canberra retiree Nicholas Rayns, who said he's been almost running his electric car for free thanks to the solar panels on his home.
The ACT ranked fourth for solar panel use, with 35.3 per cent of houses having rooftop solar panels.
Mr Rayns said he bought his Chinese-made MGZS SUV three years ago.
"For me it was a pollution thing, I didn't like driving along and and bouncing out a whole lot of stuff that wasn't good for me or my kids or anybody else in the community," he said.
"I feel a lot better driving the car than we used, it's our main vehicle for getting around Canberra and the region.
"It does all the things around town shopping, picking up stuff from bunnings all the usual things that people do."
The council's report also noted that the ACT is the first jurisdiction in Australia planning to end new fossil-fuelled vehicles by 2035.
