Commuters in Australia Survey and Statistics 2023

Whether it's driving the car or taking a bike commute, getting to work has changed dramatically for Australians since the pandemic hit in 2020.

Now, as restrictions have almost entirely eased and the country has started to go back to normal, we decided to look into the working environment of everyday Australians and how it's impacted their daily commute.

Budget Direct surveyed 997 Australians over the age of 18 to see how their commute has changed over the past 12 months and whether or not their preferences are different from last year.

During the pandemic, working from home and hybrid working arrangements became increasingly popular across the country. 

At the peak of the country's restrictions in 2021, there were 21% of workers across Australia working from home. This was up substantially from before the pandemic in 2016 when just 4.7% of workers worked from home. [1]

However, more than half of Australians in the Census said they were still commuters in 2021 and that cars were their main mode of transport to get to work. 

During the pandemic, the trend of working from home spiked in all states and territories with the most impact felt in New South Wales, where 31% of workers stopped commuting, and Victoria where 25.7% of workers worked from home.

This reduced all forms of commuting including walking and bike commuting. The level of active transport was lower in 2021 than ever recorded before in the Census with just 3.2% of workers walking or bike commuting to work.

Active modes of transport such as walking and riding bikes, including hybrid bikes and electric bikes, peaked between 2011 and 2016 with close to 480,000 commuters taking advantage of the minimal traffic and missing rush hour on the roads.

However, by 2021 this decreased by 26.4% for bike commuters and 17.4% for walkers. [1]

*Only respondents who said they had some form of commute to work were able to participate in this survey.

^Due to how the figures are rounded within the survey data, numbers may not add up to exactly 100%.

Almost two thirds of commuters who responded (61.7%) said they commuted to work every day.

Those aged 28 to 37 and 38 to 47 were the most likely age groups of those surveyed to work both at home and in the office with 44.7% and 45.5% each saying they had hybrid working arrangements.  

Meanwhile, three-quarters of respondents aged 58 to 65 (75.2%) said they commuted to the office every day, which was the highest percentage of all the age groups. 

Respondents from Western Australia were the most likely to be commuters and work in the office every day (72.8%). Meanwhile, respondents from Victoria were the most likely to have hybrid working arrangements, with more than half (51.4%) saying they worked from home and the office.

^Due to how the figures are rounded within the survey data, numbers may not add up to exactly 100%.

The majority of those who responded (67.7%) said they mainly commuted to work by car as a driver for the last 12 months.

The second most popular response from those surveyed was by train with 14.9% saying this was their main mode of transport.

Both the youngest and the oldest respondents were the most likely to take the bus with 9.6% of those aged 18 to 27 and 9.8% of those aged 58 to 65 saying this was their main mode of transport. 

More than three-quarters of respondents in South Australia (77.5%) said they drove to work. Meanwhile, they were the least likely state to say they would walk to work with just 1.4% saying this was their main mode. 

Queensland respondents were the most likely out of all states  to be bike commuters with 3.5% saying a bicycle was their preferred mode of transport for the past 12 months.

Meanwhile, men were more likely to be bike commuters while women were more likely to walk to work.

Respondents in New South Wales were the least likely to drive themselves into work out of all states with just 60.9% saying this was their main mode of transport. 

This is in line with the 2021 Census results where 43.4% of New South Wales respondents said they drove themselves to work, which was the lowest percentage of all the states. [1]

^Due to how the figures are rounded within the survey data, numbers may not add up to exactly 100%.

The majority of those who responded (83.4%) said their mode of transport when commuting hadn’t changed in the past 12 months. 

However, respondents aged 18 to 27 were the most likely to change their transport when commuting to work in the past 12 months with 21.8% saying they had done so.

Meanwhile, those who were surveyed aged 48 to 57 and 58 to 65 were the most likely to stick with what they’re familiar with 90% of both demographics saying their transport hadn’t changed in the year.

Respondents from New South Wales (16.9%) and Victoria (17.6%) were the most likely to change the way they commute in the past 12 months.

^Due to how the figures are rounded within the survey data, numbers may not add up to exactly 100%.

Most of those surveyed who said their mode of transport while commuting to work had changed in the past 12 months said their previous form of transport was driving (36.1%), while the second most common answer was taking the train (25.2%).

Commuters aged 28 to 37 in the survey were the most likely (38.3%) to previously take the train before changing their mode of transport.

Meanwhile, 12.5% of respondents aged 18 to 27 said they previously walked to work before changing their main mode of transport in the past year.

^Due to how the figures are rounded within the survey data, numbers may not add up to exactly 100%.

More than one in five people who were surveyed said they changed their mode of transport because of convenience, while 16.8% said they changed to be more affordable. 

The survey found that those aged 18 to 27 and 28 to 37 were more likely to change transport routes because they moved house in the past 12 months. 

While those aged 18 to 27 who were surveyed were more likely to have changed jobs with 18.8% saying this was why they changed their way of commuting.

Respondents from Victoria were the most likely state to change their commute to work because of convenience with 28.9% saying this was the most common reason.

^Due to how the figures are rounded within the survey data, numbers may not add up to exactly 100%.

Of those who responded to the survey, 12.9% said they worked in healthcare, while 10.2% said they worked in education. However, the majority of those surveyed (17.5%) selected ‘Other’ as their industry.

Those in banking, finance and insurance (73.5%) and government workers (67.1%) who were surveyed were the most likely industries to work from home.

In the healthcare industry, most people who were surveyed said they drove to work (76.7%), while one in 10 (10.9%) said they took the train.

^Due to how the figures are rounded within the survey data, numbers may not add up to exactly 100%.

The large majority of those who were surveyed (79%) said they worked daytime hours between 8 am and 6 pm, while 11% said they worked irregular hours including casual and shift work. 

More than 80% of those surveyed who worked an early shift said they drove to work, as did a quarter (75.5%) of those who worked irregular hours.

^Due to how the figures are rounded within the survey data, numbers may not add up to exactly 100%.

Convenience (40.6%) and travel time (27.68%) were the two most important things to consider when choosing a main mode of transport to work, according to the majority of those surveyed. 

Almost 15% of those surveyed said cost topped the list, while 7.8% said safety was the most important factor to consider when deciding how to commute.

Those aged 18 to 27 were the most likely age group in the survey to choose a mode of transport based on enjoyment (5.9%) or that could help to save money (19.1%).

Meanwhile, those surveyed aged 58 to 65 were the least likely to care about cost (10.5%) but the most likely to consider convenience (45.1%), alongside those aged 38 to 47 with around 44% of both saying convenience was the deciding factor. 

Almost one in ten people who responded in New South Wales, Western Australia and Queensland said safety was their top concern when considering a new mode of transport to work.

^Due to how the figures are rounded within the survey data, numbers may not add up to exactly 100%.

The majority of those who were surveyed (32.1%) said their commute to work was generally 15 to 30 minutes long. 

Respondents aged 48 to 57 were the most likely (28.3%) to have the shortest trip to work between 0 to 15 minutes.

Those who responded in New South Wales and Victoria were the most likely to travel 45 to 60 minutes to work. This could be due to congestion or distance which can be common in bigger cities.

^Due to how the figures are rounded within the survey data, numbers may not add up to exactly 100%.

The majority of those who were surveyed (32.7%) said a 45 to 60 minute commute would likely be too far for work. 

Older respondents were more likely to accept longer journeys to get to work with 13.5% of those aged 58 to 65 saying a 90 minute or more commute would likely be too far for them.

Meanwhile, the majority of those aged 18 to 27 (37.3%) who were surveyed said a 45 to 60 minute commute would likely be considered too far for them.

Since the pandemic, work environments have changed with more than one in five Australians in the Census saying they worked from home in 2021. [1]

In our survey, more than one in three respondents said they were now working both from the office and at home in 2023. 

Responses differed between the different generations of workers throughout the survey. Younger respondents were more likely to have a hybrid working arrangement with almost half saying they worked from home and the office while three-quarters of respondents aged 58 to 65 said they commuted to the office every day.

The large majority of those surveyed (67.7%) said they travelled by car to work while the second most popular option was the train. 

Meanwhile, convenience was the most important factor for those surveyed when deciding on their new mode of transport for their work commute. 

Despite not being the best option for health of commuters or the environment, cars can often be the most convenient form of commuting. [2]

This can usually be due to the inconvenience of other options like public transport or cycling that have to take into consideration weather conditions, rough roads or taking a spare set of clothes to ride home in. 

Respondents aged 58 to 65 were the most likely to say convenience was their biggest deciding factor, while younger respondents were the most likely age group to choose based on cost. 

The second most important deciding factor overall for those surveyed was travel time with more than a quarter saying this mattered the most.