The future for Australian personal passenger travel

This paper is concerned with the present and future levels of personal travel in Australia. Per capita passenger-km of travel by light vehicles probably peaked in the late 1980s, with the increase in vehicle ownership being offset by declining vehicle occupancy rates and annual travel per vehicle. The reasons for declining personal travel levels include increasing income inequality in Australia, coupled with rising real costs for car ownership and operation. In addition, the real costs of domestic air travel have fallen, with the resulting rapid growth in air travel being partly at the expense of interstate road travel. The future is likely to see further declines in personal travel, if, as is likely, income inequality continues to grow, and real costs of car operation increase. The new information technology could also cause travel reductions, especially if travel costs increase significantly. (a)