The public transport usage of two Melbournes

Until the last few years, Melbourne has undergone a substantial job redistribution with increased growth in financial and business services jobs in the CBD and a renaissance in residential population in its inner regions. This trend was identified in the ‘From Doughnut City to Cafe Society’ document, published in 1998 by the then Department of Infrastructure. More recently, unprecedented population growth in Melbourne’s outer reaches has joined with the ongoing surge in inner city jobs to increase the demand for commuter transport. Household economics, consumer preferences and road congestion have funnelled this demand for commuter transport into public transport where facilities and frequent services are more accessible. With Zones 1 and 2 (Melbourne 1 and 2) as a proxy for inner and outer Melbourne, this paper analyses public transport use and changes in income using ABS collections including the supplementary survey on Household Water, Energy Use and Conservation survey for Victoria (ABS Catalogue No. 4602), Household Expenditure Survey and Census. The data collected shows the trends surrounding the dynamic economic and demographic shift in the city structure, in addition to the factors affecting public transport use in Melbourne. There are clear differences between Melbourne 1 and 2 users of public transport in income, public transport expenditure and propensity for public transport use.