Sydney is Australia's most expensive city for transport, according to a new report

Sydney is a spread-out city – so for some of us, transport costs can feel like a constant uphill battle. From fuel and tolls to car rego, insurance and public transport charges, the costs just keep piling up. So do you want the good news or the bad news first?

Here’s the good news: after almost two years of rising transport costs, the figures finally dropped in the last quarter of 2024. But now, buckle up for the bad news – Sydney came out as the most expensive Australian capital city when it came to total transport costs (that's everything from public transport to fuel prices and tolls, etc). 

New data from the Australian Automobile Association’s (AAA) quarterly Affordability Index reveals that the average Aussie household spent a hefty 16.1 per cent of its income on transport in the last quarter of 2024.

It turns out, Sydney households spend an average of $29,337 per year(!) on all transport costs. That's a fair bit higher than the national capital city average of $24,486. Sydney was followed by Melbourne, where households spend an average of $27,369 per year on the same stuff. 

Households in Hobart spend the least on public transport, but they're still looking at a hefty $21,742 per year average spend.

Not great news for Sydneysiders, considering the cost of things like real estate and going out are also high. That said, the AAA report also measured a different factor, 'transport affordability', in each capital city, by ranking each city’s cost-to-income ratio – and Sydney's results look (a little) better when you look at it from this perspective.

While Hobart's transport expenses are lowest, when their incomes are taken into account, it's actually the least affordable capital city when it comes to transport costs (they spend a large 18.9 per cent of their income on getting around). Melbourne is second least affordable, followed by Sydney. In this section of the report, Brisbane took the lead as the most affordable capital in Australia for transport, with the typical household spending $443.71 or 14.8 per cent of its income on commuting.

Here's how Australia's capital cities rank when it comes to total transport costs, from most to least expensive:

1. Sydney
2. Melbourne
3. Perth
4. Canberra
5. Adelaide
6. Brisbane
7. Darwin
8. Hobart

To find out more about these results, see the full report, here.

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