1345.4 - SA Stats, May 2009  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 26/05/2009   
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FEATURE ARTICLE: JOURNEY TO WORK IN THE CITY OF ADELAIDE


INTRODUCTION

Large city centres are hubs of economic activity and experience sizeable influxes of people travelling to places of employment each work day. Information about this journey can be used to track and forecast commuting patterns over time and is important for road and public transport planning.

This article focusses on persons whose places of employment are in the City of Adelaide (Adelaide (C)). These data were obtained from the 2001 and 2006 Censuses of Population and Housing. Place of work refers to the location of the work-place in the week prior to the Census. Locations are assigned to local government councils, or Local Government Areas (LGA), and (C) indicates that the council is a city.

The method of travel to work refers to the day of the Census.


MAIN FINDINGS

Adelaide (C), which also includes North Adelaide, is the most common work destination for employed South Australians. In both 2001 and 2006, the main method of travel to work in the Adelaide (C) was private transport. However, over this period there was an increase in the proportion of people using public transport. As shown in this article, females were more likely than males to use public transport to travel to work in Adelaide (C), as were those in a younger age bracket and those on lower incomes. The highest users of public transport to work in the Adelaide (C) tend to reside in areas located further from the city as compared to the highest users of private transport who resided within closer proximity to the city.


PLACES OF WORK

In both 2001 and 2006, more South Australians travelled to Adelaide (C) than any other destination for work; the next highest destination was the City of Port Adelaide Enfield. In 2006, Adelaide (C) was the work destination of 15.0% of employed South Australians, and Port Adelaide Enfield (C) was the destination of 7.9% of South Australians who were employed. The number of persons employed in Adelaide (C) increased by 6.4%, between the 2001 and 2006 Censuses.

Top 10 Places of Work (LGA), by Persons, South Australia

Number of workers
% of workers
Place of Work (LGA)
2006
2001
2006
2001

Adelaide (C)
98 162
92 254
15.0
14.9
Port Adelaide Enfield (C)
51 983
47 697
7.9
7.7
West Torrens (C)
38 090
34 864
5.8
5.6
Charles Sturt (C)
37 727
37 950
5.8
6.1
Salisbury (C)
37 529
30 538
5.7
4.9
Onkaparinga (C)
32 904
30 999
5.0
5.0
Mitcham (C)
23 661
21 187
3.6
3.4
Marion (C)
21 545
21 969
3.3
3.6
Playford (C)
20 959
19 738
3.2
3.2
Norwood Payneham St Peters (C)
20 868
19 575
3.2
3.2
South Australia(a)(b)
655 090
617 090
100.0
100.0

(a) Includes place of work not stated and no fixed address
(b) Excludes persons usually resident outside South Australia



Main Places of Origin for Adelaide (C) Workers

The main LGAs of origin for those working in the Adelaide (C) remained largely unchanged between 2001 and 2006 and were widely distributed across the Adelaide Statistical Division (ASD). In 2001, the greatest proportion of those working in the Adelaide (C) resided in the Tea Tree Gully (C) council area (9.2%, 8,458 persons), while in 2006, the greatest proportion resided in Charles Sturt (C) (8.4%, 8,284 persons). The northern LGA of Tea Tree Gully (C) includes the suburbs of Modbury, Banksia Park and Wynn Vale while the western LGA of Charles Sturt (C) includes the suburbs of Woodville, Findon, Bowden, Henley Beach and West Lakes.

Top 10 Places of Usual Residence (LGA), by Number of Persons Employed in Adelaide (C)

Place of usual residence (LGA)
% of total workers employed in Adelaide LGA
Place of Usual Residence (LGA)
2006
2001
2006
2001

Charles Sturt (C)
8 284
7 862
8.4
8.5
Tea Tree Gully (C)
7 945
8 458
8.1
9.2
Onkaparinga (C)
7 753
7 751
7.9
8.4
Port Adelaide Enfield (C)
7 315
6 132
7.5
6.6
Mitcham (C)
7 122
6 689
7.3
7.3
Marion (C)
6 600
5 962
6.7
6.5
Burnside (C)
6 006
5 966
6.1
6.5
Unley (C)
5 964
5 450
6.1
5.9
Salisbury (C)
5 924
5 540
6.0
6.0
West Torrens (C)
5 722
5 208
5.8
5.6
South Australia(a)
98 162
92 254
100.0
100.0

(a) Excludes persons usually resident outside South Australia


While the LGAs of Tea Tree Gully (C) and Charles Sturt (C) had the highest number of residents employed in the Adelaide (C), the LGAs abutting the Adelaide (C) had the highest proportion of residents employed in the Adelaide (C). For example, in 2006, 4,156 persons lived and worked in the Adelaide (C) (56.2% of employed usual residents of Adelaide (C)). Other near city LGAs such as Unley (C), Norwood, Payneham and St Peters (C) and The Town of Walkerville (M) also had relatively high proportions of their employed residents working in the Adelaide (C).

Top 10 Places of Usual Residence (LGA), by Proportion of Persons Employed in Adelaide (C), 2006

Place of Usual Residence (LGA)
Number
% of employed residents working in Adelaide LGA

Adelaide (C)
4 156
56.2
Unley (C)
5 964
33.5
Norwood Payneham St Peters (C)
5 092
32.6
Walkerville (M)
970
31.1
Burnside (C)
6 006
30.9
Prospect (C)
2 709
28.5
West Torrens (C)
5 722
25.1
Mitcham (C)
7 122
24.3
Campbelltown (C)
4 704
23.7
Holdfast Bay (C)
3 228
21.2
South Australia(a)
98 162
15.0

(a) Excludes persons usually resident outside South Australia

Diagram: Main Places of Origin for Adelaide (C) Workers


METHOD OF TRAVEL TO WORK IN THE ADELAIDE (C)

The method of travel analysed only relates to Census day and may not relate to the usual method of travel to work.

Private transport, by car (as a driver or passenger) and motorbike or scooter, was the main mode of travel to work in the Adelaide (C) in both 2001 and 2006. In this time there was an increase in the proportion of people using public transport and walking or cycling to work, and a decrease in the proportion using private transport. In 2001, 54.9% (50,672 people) of Adelaide (C) workers used private car or motor scooter/bike for their journey to work, while in 2006 the proportion and number of people decreased to 49.7% and 48,755 persons respectively. Between 2001 and 2006 the number of people using public transport (bus, train, tram) to travel to work in the Adelaide (C) increased by 25.0% (from 19,299 to 24,122 persons). This increase in public transport use was much larger than the increase in the number of workers employed in Adelaide (C), in the same period (6.4%).

Method of Travel to Work, Persons Employed in Adelaide (C)

Number
% of Adelaide LGA workers
Method of Travel
2006
2001
2006
2001

Car, as driver
41 094
42 900
41.9
46.5
Bus
17 999
14 988
18.3
16.2
Car, as passenger
6 944
7 409
7.1
8.0
Train
5 143
3 551
5.2
3.8
Walked only
3 435
2 132
3.5
2.3
Bicycle
2 203
1 362
2.2
1.5
Tram
980
760
1.0
0.8
Motorbike/scooter
717
363
0.7
0.4
Other response(a)
19 643
18 779
20.0
20.4
Total
98 162
92 254
100.0
100.0

(a) Other response includes: taxi, truck, other mode, ferry, more than one method, did not go to work, not stated and worked at home.



Factors Related to Method of Travel

In 2006, the proportion of Adelaide (C) workers using public transport to travel to work varied according to factors such as gender, age, occupation and income.

More females than males travelled to work by public transport in 2006, with 26.0% of females working in the Adelaide (C) using public transport compared to 22.8% of males. Female full-time workers made greater use of public transport than female part-time workers (30.0% compared with 22.1%).

On the other hand, males were more likely than females to walk or cycle to work in 2006 (7.8% compared with 4.2%).

Method of Travel to Work, Persons Employed in Adelaide (C), 2006
Graph: Method of Travel to Work, Persons Employed in Adelaide (C), 2006


In 2006, the proportion of Adelaide (C) workers who used public transport to get to work decreased with age. Only 21.7% of persons aged 55+ used public transport to travel to work, compared to 28.0% of persons aged 15-34 years and 22.5% of persons aged 35-54 years.

Method of Travel to Work, Persons employed in Adelaide (C) by age, 2006
Graph: Method of Travel to Work, Persons employed in Adelaide (C) by age, 2006


In 2006, the proportion of people employed within Adelaide (C) who used private transport to travel to work increased with individual weekly income. Of those who earned more than $1,300 a week, 62.3% used private transport to travel to work, compared with 40.9% of those who earn less than $600 per week. Similarly, 64.7% of Managers in Adelaide (C) used private transport to travel to work compared to 41.1% of Clerical and administrative workers and 40.1% of Sales workers.

Method of Travel to Work, Persons Employed in Adelaide (C) by Individual Weekly Income, 2006
Graph: Method of Travel to Work, Persons Employed in Adelaide (C) by Individual Weekly Income, 2006



TRANSPORT USE BY ORIGIN

The following analysis is restricted to South Australian LGAs with more than 500 persons employed in the Adelaide (C).

The method of transport used by people to travel to work in the Adelaide (C) shows some relation to their proximity and accessibility to the city and the availability of public transport.

Burnside (C), which includes the suburbs of Glen Osmond, Dulwich and Magill, had the highest proportion of employed residents using private transport to travel to work in the city in both 2001 and 2006, but this decreased over the period from 68.0% (4,055 people) in 2001 to 62.9% (3,780 people) in 2006.

For the District Council of Mount Barker (DC), which is in the Outer Adelaide Statistical Division, the number of employed residents taking private transport to work in the city increased between 2001 and 2006 from 771 to 888, but the proportion of people decreased from 64.1% to 60.6%. Mount Barker (DC) includes the localities of Hahndorf, Littlehampton and Nairne.

The Town of Gawler (M), which is on the northern fringe of the Adelaide Statistical Division, had the highest proportion of employed residents using public transport to travel to work in the Adelaide (C) in both 2001 (37.0%, or 201 people) and 2006 (41.9%, or 227 people). In 2006, Tea Tree Gully (C) had the second highest proportion of residents travelling to work in Adelaide (C) by public transport (35.9%, or 2,853 people). This LGA is serviced by the O-Bahn Busway.

Diagram: Transport Use by Origin


SUMMARY

The City of Adelaide accommodates the largest number of workers in South Australia. In 2006, there were 98,162 people employed in the Adelaide (C).

On the days of the Census in 2001 and 2006, private transport was the most common method of travel to work for people employed in Adelaide (C).

There was an increase in the proportion of Adelaide (C) workers using public transport, walking or riding a bicycle in 2006 compared with 2001, and a fall in the proportion using private transport.

More females than males used public transport to travel to their places of work in the Adelaide (C).

Persons in younger age groups were bigger users of public transport to travel to their places of work in the Adelaide (C).

Lower income earners were bigger users of public transport to travel to their places of work in the Adelaide (C).

Full-time workers were bigger users of public transport to travel to their places of work in the Adelaide (C).

Workers living far from the Adelaide (C) showed a higher proportion of public transport use for travel to their places of work in the Adelaide (C).

Conversely, private transport was more likely to be the choice for workers living close to the Adelaide (C).