PUBLIC AND PRIVATE TRANSPORT IN AUSTRALIAN CITIES: I. AN ANALYSIS OF EXISTING PATTERNS AND THEIR ENERGY IMPLICATIONS

Data from a wide range of sources have been collated to examine past trends and existing patterns of public and private transport in Australia's five biggest cities. Energy consumption by type of fuel has been used to compare modal energy efficiencies and per capita transport energy consumption in each city. Significant differences were found between the five cities in the level of private travel, provision of public transport, public transport patronage and transport energy consumption per capita. Much of the variation appears to be associated with the use of electrified fixed rail systems. Electric trains and trams were shown to be the most energy-efficient form of public transport in Australian cities, to attract the highest patronage and to use an insignificant amount of total transport energy. By contrast, cities with public transport based mainly on buses and diesel trains have lower public transport utilisation, perform less energy-efficiently and have higher transport energy consumption per capita due to greater private car usage. It is concluded that encouraging a well-integrated public transport system with electric trains and trams as a backbone has the potential to save significant quantities of liquid fuel. (a) (TRRL)