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Australian families pay more for land transport

Xinhua, November 7, 2016 Adjust font size:

Australian families are paying an average of 16,894 (13,000 U.S. dollars) annually in land transport, the statistics released Monday by the Australian Automobile Association (AAA) showed.

The AAA released its latest Transport Affordability Index which shows that in the three months to September 2016, rising costs have seen the average family in Australia spending around 16,894 (13,000 U.S. dollars) a year on land transport, an increase of 116 AU dollars per year.

Nationally, transport costs as a percentage of income also increased slightly over the September quarter to 13.4 percent from 13.3 percent last quarter. In comparison, household expenses relating to telecommunications, electricity and water consume one to three percent of household budgets.

"The latest Transport Affordability Index shows transport costs continue to steadily increase, creeping up in both dollar terms and as a share of the household budget," said AAA Chief Executive Michael Bradley.

"It's very important that governments consider how rising transport costs are applying financial pressure to Australian households when formulating policy."

Commissioned by the AAA and developed by SGS Economics & Planning, the Transport Affordability Index tracks transport affordability by analysing tax, tollways, public transport and finance costs as a proportion of average household income across states and territories.

The research finds out that Melbourne was the only capital city to experience a fall in average annual transport costs, down from 18,136.02 AU dollars (13,910 U.S. dollars) to 18,056.11 dollars (13,849 U.S. dollars).

The average family in Sydney is paying around 21,653 AU dollars (16,607 U.S. dollars), up from 21,389.78 dollars (16,405 U.S. dollars) in last quarter, while the annual cost of land transport is lowest in Hobart at 14,197 dollars (10,889 U.S. dollars).

A typical two-car Sydney household faced weekly transport costs of 416 AU dollars (319 U.S. dollars) per week, while Adelaide, Hobart and Darwin had relatively low transport costs. In these cities, public transport, driver's licences and vehicle registration were all relatively less expensive.

Car loans continue to make up the biggest share of a household's transport costs.

The Index is based on the incomes and transport costs of a hypothetical household in each capital city that consists of a couple with children and two cars. It assumes that one member of the family drives to work, while the other catches public transport.

Hypothetical suburbs were also chosen as they were middle to outer ring suburbs, had a relatively high population density, had access to public transport, and in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, would require driving through toll roads to access the CBD. The Index's data baseline is first quarter (January to March) 2016. Endit