If there’s one thing worse than being stuck at your desk for nine hours straight, it’s sitting in traffic for what feels like ten on your drive home. Australia is notorious for having some of the absolute worst traffic (and road rage) on the planet, with many city slickers fleeing to regional towns to escape the mayhem. So, which cities should traffic-haters avoid? No one will be shocked to discover that Melbourne and Sydney are the worst cities for traffic in Australia, ranking first and second in a new study by Novated Lease Australia.
According to the research, Australians are the most traffic-wary drivers in the world, with more searches for “live traffic” than any other country (an average of 18,000 searches per month). And although all Australians have reason to be concerned about being stuck on the road – with 21 million registered cars all sharing the country's 873,500km of roads and highways – our friends in Melbourne and Sydney cop it the worst.
To determine Australia’s worst cities for traffic, Novated Lease Australia used TomTom data to evaluate several factors, including yearly emissions from congestion, petrol prices, travel time and hours spent stuck behind the wheel. Unsurprisingly, Melbourne came out as the worst city for traffic in the country, with the typical driver spending a whopping average of 92 hours in traffic per year. Imagine what else you could accomplish in that time, e.g. watching Oppenheimer on repeat 30.6 times. What’s worse is the average driver in Melbourne forks out an extra $205 in petrol fees due to congestion, producing 247 kilograms of emissions each year. Not cool!
Although Victoria’s capital claimed first place, NSW cities loomed largest in the list of Australia’s most congested cities, with the state claiming three of the top ten spots. The study found that Sydney drivers clock up an average of 83 hours of traffic per year, with Wednesday evenings from 5-6pm being the worst time to hit the road.
Next up was Adelaide, with locals here spending an average of 72 hours – three whole days – stuck in traffic each year. As expected, Australia’s less populated cities have the least congestion, with Wollongong coming in tenth, clocking an average of 25 hours in traffic per year. That’s almost three full days less than the average Melburnian! Is it worth it? You tell us!
Here are the 10 worst cities for traffic in Australia:
Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Australia newsletter for more news, travel inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox.