Results from the latest Sydney transport Census snapshot released yesterday have revealed that public transport use is increasing, but the car remains the dominant mode for people commuting to work.
In the five years to 2011, Sydney’s total workforce increased from 1.9 million to 2.06 million, with the proportion of people using public transport growing from 21.2 per cent to 23.2 per cent in that time. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, this was mostly due to a large increase in train travel, with the share of Sydney workers catching a train to work increasing from 14.5 per cent to 16 per cent. This equates to an increase from around 230,000 commuters in 2006 to 280,000 in 2011, coinciding with the opening of the Epping to Chatswood rail line.
But the car continues to dominate the city. About 1.2 million Sydney residents drove to work each day in 2011, accounting for 67.7 per cent of all employees.
The share of employees catching a bus increased only slightly from 6.3 per cent to 6.8 per cent, while the share of employees cycling increased from 0.7 per cent to 0.9 per cent. The suburbs with the highest proportion of people cycling to work are all around Sydney University – Darlington, Redfern, Enmore, Forest Lodge and Erskineville.
Source: Sydney Morning Herald