Population growth
Residential populations are expected to increase in all cities we operate in.
Populations in these cities are projected to increase from 14%–42% during the next two decades.
Population growth by city
Check the tabs to see:
Congestion in 2031
With more people moving around cities, congestion—across all forms of transport—is set to increase. In 2019, Infrastructure Australia predicted that the total cost of road congestion will be $39.6 billion by 2031, while public transport crowding will cost $837 million.
Check the graph to see how much congestion is predicted to grow in each city by 2031.
People are concerned about congestion
We surveyed people in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland about their attitudes to congestion in 2021. Our survey found 93% of people in metro areas are concerned about congestion. And 28% of these people said they are very concerned. We conducted this research as part of our Urban Mobility Trends report series.
How toll roads ease congestion
Transurban’s roads are designed to enable free-flowing traffic, and also enable motorists to choose quicker and more reliable travel compared to alternate routes.
Every workday our customers save a combined 376,000 hours in travel time (Based on FY22 data).
You can find out more information on the value our roads generate for our customers and the cities in which we operate via the link below.
Funding transport infrastructure
While increasing congestion is a concern for most people, addressing this through transport infrastructure ranks below other public priorities. In the August 2022 edition of our Urban Mobility Trends report we found most people think cost of living and hospitals/healthcare require more focus. With government budgets highly indebted due to COVID-19 responses and facing competing public funding priorities, most people support private sector investment in transport infrastructure.
Creating a more sustainable road funding model
Most governments around the world collect fuel excise on every litre or gallon of petrol and diesel.
Revenue from fuel excise contributes towards the construction and maintenance of roads.
Australian fuel excise rate and revenue
cents per litre
Current fuel excise rate
(2018–19)
Collected from fuel excise
(source: Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics)
As shown below, in Australia, fuel excise makes up a decent chunk (37%) of all revenue collected from road-related activities.
Governments at all levels (federal, state/territory and local) contribute financially to transport infrastructure development.
More cars, less fuel excise
While total vehicle kilometres driven has increased by around 36% since 1997–98, net fuel excise collected by the Federal Government has declined by around 20% in real terms.
Part of why excise revenue is decreasing is simply that vehicles are becoming more fuel efficient. The graph shows how fuel excise collected per vehicle kilometre travelled has been declining for decades.
Fuel excise collected contributes to the construction and maintenance of roads. A growing backlog of needed infrastructure projects, along with the fact more people intend to use private vehicles post-COVID-19 (see Mobility reports), means transport infrastructure funding reform is becoming increasingly urgent.
Road user charging
If the existence of fuel excise—and how roads are funded in Australia—are news to you, you’re not alone. Our survey on this topic found more than 80% of respondents knew absolutely nothing, or very little about how Australia funds the construction and maintenance of its roads.
The August 2022 edition of our Urban Mobility Trends report included questions about awareness of road funding and the role of fuel excise.
While most people said they were aware of fuel excise, only 21% of people surveyed in Montreal, 20% in Australia and 10% in the Greater Washington Area could accurately identify how much they pay per litre.
A sustainable alternative to fuel-excise
An alternative taxation model to Australia’s current system of fuel excise and other charges is a road-usage charge. Motorists would pay for their usage, with charges set for each trip taken, each kilometre travelled or at a capped daily rate.
In our August 2021 Urban Mobility Trends report, we asked people in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane to evaluate the two funding models (fuel excise vs road use charging) based on descriptions of the current system and a hypothetical per-kilometre road-user charge.
After comparing both models:
preferred a road-user charge
preferred the current funding model
were undecided
*Preference for the current funding model decreased to 23% after respondents learned sticking with the current model may
potentially lead to reduced government funding for future roads and infrastructure projects.