1301.0 - Year Book Australia, 2003  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 24/01/2003   
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Contents >> Transport >> General transport activity

This section provides data relating to the movement of goods and persons. Examples include distance travelled, tonnes of freight carried and number of passengers.

Road transport activity

Motor vehicles travelled a total distance of 180,782 million kilometres in the year ended 31 October 2000 at an average of 15,400 km per vehicle on the road (table 23.1). Business use accounted for an estimated 34.4% of distance travelled, while the journey to and from work accounted for a further 22.1%. Private use made up the remaining 43.5%.


23.1 BUSINESS AND PRIVATE VEHICLE USE - Year ended 31 October 2000(a)

Business

Type of vehicle
Laden
Unladen
Total(b)
Total to and
from work
Private
Total

TOTAL KILOMETRES TRAVELLED (million)

Passenger vehicles
n.a.
n.a.
31,085
35,050
72,590
138,725
Motor cycles
n.a.
n.a.
131
449
587
1,167
Light commercial vehicles
12,704
4,833
17,537
4,318
5,281
27,136
Rigid trucks
4,406
1,834
6,240
94
81
6,415
Articulated trucks
3,887
1,436
5,323
*6
*2
5,331
Non-freight carrying trucks
n.a.
n.a.
252
**1
**1
254
Buses
n.a.
n.a.
1,664
19
70
1,754
Total
20,997
8,104
62,233
39,937
78,612
180,782

AVERAGE KILOMETRES TRAVELLED PER VEHICLE(c) (’000)

Passenger vehicles
n.a.
n.a.
10.2
7.1
8.5
14.7
Motor cycles
n.a.
n.a.
2.6
4.6
3.1
4.6
Light commercial vehicles
14.3
8.3
17.6
7.5
6.1
17.1
Rigid trucks
15.9
8.5
22.3
4.4
2.7
21.3
Articulated trucks
71.3
30.2
96.5
2.9
*1.3
94.4
Non-freight carrying trucks
n.a.
n.a.
13.9
*3.2
*1.8
13.8
Buses
n.a.
n.a.
34.2
4.3
9.4
32.6
Total
17.2
9.5
13.9
7.1
8.2
15.4

(a) Because of changes to methodology, caution should be used when comparing these data with data from the 1995 and earlier surveys presented in previous editions of Year Book Australia.
(b) Includes business travel of non-freight carrying vehicles.
(c) Calculated using total kilometres travelled divided by the average number of registered vehicles, for each type of vehicle, by type of use.

Source: Survey of Motor Vehicle Use, Australia, 12 months ended 31 October 2000 (9208.0).


Table 23.2 shows the areas in which motor vehicles travelled. Only 5.4% of total distance travelled was interstate while 55.5% was within the capital city of the state or territory in which the vehicle was registered.


23.2 AREA OF OPERATION - Year ended 31 October 2000(a)

Within state/territory of registration

Type of vehicle
Capital city(b)
Provincial urban
Other areas of
state or territory
Total
Interstate(c)
Australia

TOTAL KILOMETRES TRAVELLED (million)

Passenger vehicles
82,488
17,986
31,219
131,692
7,032
138,725
Motor cycles
536
212
318
1,066
*101
1,167
Light commercial vehicles
12,049
4,351
9,830
26,230
906
27,136
Rigid trucks
3,405
757
2,022
6,184
231
6,415
Articulated trucks
977
338
2,539
3,854
1,477
5,331
Non-freight carrying types
108
**74
*63
245
*9
254
Buses
820
268
589
1,678
76
1,754
Total
100,383
23,987
46,580
170,950
9,833
180,782

AVERAGE KILOMETRES TRAVELLED PER VEHICLE(d) (’000)

Passenger vehicles
11.6
6.7
9.8
14.0
8.4
14.7
Motor cycles
4.1
3.7
2.9
4.3
*5.1
4.6
Light commercial vehicles
15.4
10.2
13.1
16.7
8.9
17.1
Rigid trucks
22.4
11.6
14.4
20.7
14.7
21.3
Articulated trucks
29.9
19.3
64.1
70.5
86.9
94.4
Non-freight carrying types
16.1
*17.3
*7.5
13.7
*13.7
13.8
Buses
27.0
18.5
25.6
31.6
19.7
32.6
Total
12.2
7.3
10.9
14.7
9.8
15.4

(a) Because of changes to methodology caution must be taken when comparing these data with data from the 1995 and earlier surveys presented in previous editions of Year Book Australia.
(b) Relates to travel within the capital of the state/territory where a vehicle is registered (i.e. Sydney for vehicles registered in NSW).
(c) Interstate travel relates to distance travelled in states/territories other than the one in which the vehicle was registered (e.g. distance travelled by a NSW registered vehicle in Vic.). It is not classified by capital city/provincial urban/other area (i.e. distance travelled by a NSW registered vehicle in Melbourne is shown as interstate travel and not capital city travel).
(d) Calculated as total kilometres travelled divided by the number of vehicles travelling, for each type of vehicle, by area of operation.

Source: Survey of Motor Vehicle Use, Australia, 12 Months Ended 31 October 2000 (9208.0).


Rail transport activity

The Australian rail industry is very diverse. It comprises rail operators, (freight, passenger, tourist and heritage), manufacturers, suppliers, consultants, track access corporations, maintenance and construction contractors, logistics providers and a wide range of other companies covering all sectors of the industry. The majority of companies in the rail industry are private profitable enterprises trading in highly competitive domestic and international markets. They generate 1.6% of Australia’s GDP with output of goods and services worth $8b each year, including $0.5b per year in exports.

Australia’s railways are undergoing significant change. Privatisation has resulted in a decline in government ownership and management of railways. There are over 180 private and public companies involved in the Australian rail industry, employing around 75,000 people in urban and regional Australia. In many rural and regional centres, employment in the rail or rail-related sector comprises a major source of employment.

Each part of the rail industry has quite different business and community objectives. Freight services are profitable, commercial enterprises; urban and rural passenger services are community services financed by fares and taxation; and track access providers are charged with the responsibility of making commercial rates of return that include full accounting for capital investment and capital stock.

In New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia and Tasmania, government rail freight operations have been sold to private organisations. Passenger services in New South Wales, Western Australia and Queensland remain government operations.

Domestic airline activity

Table 23.3 shows the hours flown and aircraft departures for the major domestic and regional airlines. Aircraft departures decreased by 1.1% in 2001 compared to departures in 2000. The number of hours flown in 2001 decreased by 1.2% from 2000.


23.3 DOMESTIC AIRLINE(a) ACTIVITY, Major airlines

1996
1997
1998
1999
2000(a)
2001(a)
'000
'000
'000
'000
'000
'000

Hours flown
454
440
440
442
463
458
Aircraft departures
254
242
239
240
249
246

(a) Includes Ansett Australia, Qantas Airways Ltd, Virgin Blue and the jet services of Impulse Airline.

Source: Department of Transport and Regional Services.


In addition to scheduled services of domestic and regional airlines shown in table 23.3, a wide range of other activities is undertaken by the aviation industry, including business flying, aerial agriculture, charter, training and private flying (table 23.4). Charter operations and training have, in recent years, made up more than half of general aviation hours flown. Charter operations involve the use of aircraft in non-scheduled operations for the carriage of passengers and cargo for hire or reward. General aviation hours flown in 2001 were marginally lower across all activity types (except private/business) than hours flown in 2000.


23.4 GENERAL AVIATION ACTIVITY, Hours flown

1996
1997
1998
1999
2000(a)
2001(b)
'000
'000
'000
'000
'000
'000

Charter
483
487
498
508
480
469
Agricultural
126
137
148
135
124
115
Flying training
450
455
484
454
419
414
Other aerial work
293
315
319
314
304
301
Private/business
447
446
430
432
388
411
Total
1,799
1,839
1,878
1,842
1,715
1,711

(a) Revised data.
(b) 2001 figures are preliminary.

Source: Department of Transport and Regional Services.


International air transport activity

As table 23.5 shows, the number of flights into and out of Australia in 2001 both increased marginally over 2000 levels. Other airlines (i.e. overseas operators) represented 65.8% of all scheduled international airline traffic. In 2001 these airlines marginally decreased their flights (incoming flights by 0.5% and outgoing flights by 0.1%) compared with 2000, while Qantas increased flights into and out of Australia by 6.9% and 6.5% respectively. In contrast, the number of Ansett flights fell sharply, with flights into and out of the country both dropping by 28% as a result of that airline's operations ceasing.


23.5 SCHEDULED INTERNATIONAL AIRLINE TRAFFIC TO AND FROM AUSTRALIA(a)(b)(c)

Type of traffic
1999
2000
2001

TRAFFIC TO AUSTRALIA

Qantas Airways Limited
12,675
13,751
14,702
Ansett Australia
1,640
1,450
1,046
Other airlines
27,219
30,633
30,484
All airlines
41,534
45,834
46,232

TRAFFIC FROM AUSTRALIA

Qantas Airways Limited
12,733
13,817
14,714
Ansett Australia
1,646
1,454
1,048
Other airlines
26,713
30,083
30,051
All airlines
41,092
45,354
45,813

(a) Includes Norfolk Island.
(b) Includes Qantas flights using aircraft leased from other airlines and vice versa.
(c) The difference between to and from numbers arises because some outward flights are operated as non-scheduled, and so are not counted in the table.

Source: Department of Transport and Regional Services.

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