The Urban Developer
AdvertiseEventsWebinars
Urbanity
Awards
Sign In
Membership
Latest
Menu
Location
Sector
Category
Content
Type
Newsletters
JUST 15 DAYS UNTIL OUR FLAGSHIP CONFERENCE JOIN MORE THAN 550 ALREADY ATTENDING
JUST 15 DAYS TO GO UNTIL URBANITY-25 550+ ALREADY ATTENDING
REGISTER NOWDETAILS
TheUrbanDeveloper
Follow
About
About Us
Membership
Awards
Events
Webinars
Listings
Resources
Terms & Conditions
Commenting Policy
Privacy Policy
Republishing Guidelines
Editorial Charter
Complaints Handling Policy
Contact
General Enquiries
Advertise
Contribution Enquiry
Project Submission
Membership Enquiry
Newsletter
Stay up to date and with the latest news, projects, deals and features.
Subscribe
InfrastructureAna NarvaezFri 26 Oct 18

Four Million Australians ‘Left Behind’ By Public Transport

TUD+ MEMBER CONTENT
07f2564d-40c3-4c63-bbd4-9031be93bc72
SHARE
29
print
Print

While Australia is rapidly urbanising, we are still unflinchingly suburban, with nearly 50 per cent of us living in the outer suburbs of our five largest cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.

Over the next 30 years, Australia will grow by more than 11 million people, and much of this growth will be in the outer reaches of our cities.

A new report by Infrastructure Australia has warned that the outer urban areas of our cities are being left behind. More than four million suburban city-dwellers do not have frequent public transport services within walking distance of their home.

Inadequate access to public transport is driving disadvantage, limiting access to employment, education and other social infrastructure, which can have a tangible impact on quality of life.

The report defines walking distance as 800 metres to a suburban rail service and 400 metres for other services. A medium to high-frequency service is defined as four or more services during weekday morning peak times.

Residents in Melbourne’s outer suburbs have the worst access to public transport – with 1.4 million people, or 62 per cent, without access to frequent public transport services within walking distance.

More than 1 million people in Sydney and Brisbane also fall into this category, while half a million Perth residents and 200,000 Adelaide residents live with inadequate access to public transport.

Related: Victoria Unveils $50 Billion Suburban Rail Project

The report defines walking distance as 800m to a suburban rail service and 400 metres for other services.Source: Infrastructure Australia


Inadequate access to public transport means that people in outer urban areas travel further and take more time to get to work.

About 45 per cent of these residents travel more than 20 km each day to work, compared to just 7 per cent of inner-city dwellers.

“Without access to reasonable public transport services, people living or working in our outer suburbs are more reliant on their cars,” Infrastructure Australia executive director of policy and research Peter Colacino said.

“Meaning they shoulder the burden of additional vehicle operating costs, leaving less money for other household expenses compared to commuters in inner suburbs.”

Colacino called on state governments to improve existing transport networks and consider new technology to service communities in the growing outer suburbs.

“In the past, it has been very costly to deliver public transport in lower density, outer suburban areas where houses and employment centres are typically spread over large distances.

“Traditional public transport models are most efficient and effective in areas of high demand, often requiring higher density.

“However, new technology and delivery models, such as on-demand buses, offer an immediate opportunity to confront these challenges by increasing the flexibility and reach of the network and therefore serving a more diverse range of destinations.”

InfrastructureAustraliaReal EstatePlanningPlanningOther
AUTHOR
Ana Narvaez
The Urban Developer - Editorial Director
More articles by this author
ADVERTISEMENT
TOP STORIES
The Port of Brisbane has released its Vision 2060 which details the need for inland rail connectivity
Infrastructure

Brisbane Port’s $15bn Future Faces One Big Obstacle

Renee McKeown
5 Min
Freecity Rouse Hill triple towers 2 Tempus Street
Exclusive

Freecity Takes Covers Off $330m Triple Towers in Sydney’s North-West

Leon Della Bosca
5 Min
Parallel Workshops Stockdale Housing PBSA project
Exclusive

Suburban Success Story Turns PBSA Thinking on its Head

Leon Della Bosca
7 Min
Exclusive

Interstate Developers Find Lots to Love in ‘Progressive, Affordable’ SA

Taryn Paris
5 Min
Bates Smart Richmond Sportslink HERO
Exclusive

BtR Focus Drives Bates Smart’s Richmond Sportslink Concept

Leon Della Bosca
6 Min
View All >
A hydrogen production facility, part of the Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) project to ship hydrogen from Victoria to Japan.
Exclusive

Minister Intervenes, Approves Hastings Hydrogen Facility

Marisa Wikramanayake
Exclusive

Australia’s 5 Biggest Student Living Projects Under Way

Shravanth Reddy
Windsor Lutwyche Road DA hero
Development

Arch-Filled Commercial Strip Filed for Brisbane’s Northside

Phil Bartsch
The distinctive two-storey commercial building is earmarked for a long-vacant site along one of The River City’s busiest…
LATEST
A hydrogen production facility, part of the Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) project to ship hydrogen from Victoria to Japan.
Exclusive

Minister Intervenes, Approves Hastings Hydrogen Facility

Marisa Wikramanayake
3 Min
Exclusive

Australia’s 5 Biggest Student Living Projects Under Way

Shravanth Reddy
3 Min
Windsor Lutwyche Road DA hero
Development

Arch-Filled Commercial Strip Filed for Brisbane’s Northside

Phil Bartsch
3 Min
Landcom The Joinery Annandale a build to rent development on the former westconnex site
Build-to-Rent

Landcom Takes Cover Off BtR Plans at Annandale

Renee McKeown
3 Min
View All >
ADVERTISEMENT
Article originally posted at: https://theurbandeveloper.com/articles/four-million-australians-dont-have-adequate-access-to-public-transport-