Transport in Melbourne

The PTV public transport symbols. Left to right: Metro Train, tram, bus, V/Line train, V/Line coach, ferry, SkyBus
Tram next to a bus, with a train passing above
Yarra Trams Z-class tram beside a Melbourne Bus Link Scania bus, with a Metro Trains X'Trapolis 100 passing above
Map of Melbourne
Road map of the Melbourne metropolitan area by OpenStreetMap

Transport in Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia, consists of several interlinking modes. Melbourne is a hub for intercity, intracity and regional travel. Road-based transport accounts for most trips across many parts of the city,[1] facilitated by Australia's largest freeway network.[2] Public transport, including the world's largest tram network, trains and buses, also forms a key part of the transport system. Other dominant modes include walking, cycling and commercial-passenger vehicle services such as taxis.

Melbourne is a busy regional transport hub for the statewide passenger rail network, coaches and interstate rail services to New South Wales and South Australia. Freight transport also makes up a significant proportion of trips made on the network from the Port of Melbourne, Melbourne Airport and industrial areas across the city.

According to the 2016 Australian census, Melbourne has the second-highest rate of public transport usage among Australian capital cities for travel to work at 19 percent, second to Sydney's 27 percent.[1] In 2017-2018, 565 million passenger trips were made on Melbourne's metropolitan public transport network.[3]

Melbourne has the most road space per capita of any Australian city, with its freeway network being comparable to Los Angeles and Atlanta in terms of its size and scale.[4] Much of Australia's automotive industry was located in Melbourne until all manufacturing ceased at the end of 2017.[5][6][7] The state government, as part of the release of the Melbourne 2030 planning strategy in 2002, set a target for modal share of cars to decrease to 80 percent by 2020. However, increases in car usage since this target was set has not shown the decline that was initially predicted.[8][9]

  1. ^ a b "How far do Australians go to get to work?". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 22 May 2018. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  2. ^ "PTUA – 'The Alternative to Melbourne's Freeway Explosion'". Retrieved 26 July 2007.
  3. ^ "Public Transport Victoria Annual report 2017-2018" (PDF). static.ptv.vic.gov.au. November 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  4. ^ [1] Archived 6 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ AUSmotive.com (11 December 2013). "Holden to cease local production in 2017". AUSmotive.com. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  6. ^ "Ford Australia to close Broadmeadows and Geelong plants, 1,200 jobs to go". ABC News (Australia). 23 May 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  7. ^ Hawthorne, Mark (10 February 2014). "Toyota to exit Australia, 30,000 jobs could go". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  8. ^ "More than two in three drive to work, Census reveals". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 23 October 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  9. ^ "Melbourne traffic: Rise in car numbers keeping pace with population growth". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 20 February 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2018.