Australians blow 13 percent of household income on transport: survey

Australian families are paying an arm and a leg every year to commute around Sydney's city roads and use its public transportation networks, a survey has found.

The survey conducted by the Australian Automobile Association's shows that about 13 percent of the average Aussie household income were set aside for transportation alone.

AAA chief executive Michael Bradley said the figures were remarkable considering water, electricity and phone costs only accounted for just about one to three percent of a combined overall income by an Australian family.

"You always hear politicians talking about gas and electricity prices but what we're saying is transport is far and away the higher cost," Bradley told local media on Monday.

The AAA index figures, which is updated once every three months, are based on a hypothetical household of a couple with children and two cars, where one parent drives to work and the other catches the public transport.

The survey also revealed that car loan repayments had accounted for the largest share of a family transport costs, followed by fuel, public transport fare, car registration and licensing.

"For most people transport is just an unavoidable cost, and the people who have greatest capacity to improve the situation are our governments," Bradley said.

He said one way of lowering transport costs would be to lift import tariffs Australians must pay to buy vehicles from overseas, a move he estimates would save drivers 690 million Australian dollars (525.67 million U.S. dollars) a year. Endit