SoE 2006 > Human settlement > 2.4 Transport

2.4 Transport

In Sydney 22% of people use public transport for travel to work, the highest rate of all Australian capital cities. The numbers of cars owned, and car trips taken, are increasing at a faster rate than population growth. However, there have been significant improvements in fuel and vehicle technology.

The use of motor vehicles for both passenger and freight movements has continued to grow. Population growth is partly fuelling this increase in transport demand, but people are also making more frequent trips with a continuing trend toward car use and away from other modes of transport. As more than half of all car trips are less than five kilometres, alternatives such as walking and cycling could provide significant benefits for health and air quality where practical.

Transport is the second-fastest growing source of NSW greenhouse gas emissions and continues to be a significant source of particles, as well as oxides of nitrogen and volatile organic compounds. These latter two pollutants contribute to the build-up of harmful ground-level ozone. The health impacts of excessive transport noise and air emissions, and the associated costs of transport's other environmental impacts, are well known.

NSW indicators

Introduction

Transport involves the movement of both people and freight. It facilitates access to jobs, education, markets, leisure and other services, and thus plays a key role in the economy. However, travel has environmental impacts: it consumes significant amounts of non-renewable resources, especially fossil fuels, and produces air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Runoff from roads affects water quality and road construction can affect biodiversity by fragmenting natural ecosystems.

The transport sector is NSW's second-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, contributing 13.7% of the State's total and around a fifth of all NSW energy-related emissions. Road transport has by far the largest share of the transport emissions at 91.4%, followed by civil aviation (5%), marine (1.8%) and railways (1.7%) (AGO 2006a).

The effects of transport on health are being increasingly recognised. Traffic congestion, accidents, noise and visual intrusion all have significant impacts on urban amenity and health. Evidence has emerged that air pollutants, coupled with an inactive lifestyle, have direct health effects that may lead to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases and early mortality. Increasing use of public transport, walking and cycling can reduce air pollution as well as the risk factors for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and osteoporosis (see Atmosphere 3.3).

Current status and trends

The number of vehicle kilometres travelled (VKT) is a measure of the total distance travelled by cars and other vehicles. It is a key factor influencing vehicle-based air pollution, energy consumption, and the generation of greenhouse gas emissions. Other important factors (discussed elsewhere in this section) are the patterns of various transport modes used, the energy efficiency of those modes, vehicle technology (emissions per kilometre) and driving conditions, particularly the number of cold starts and average driving speeds.

Travel patterns in Sydney

Demand for car travel is growing faster than population but less than the growth in gross state product (GSP). Over the last 20 years, Sydney's population has grown by 21%, while the number of car trips has increased by 41% and the number of cars by 58%. Between 1999 and 2003, population grew by 4.6%, VKT increased by 6.0%, the number of vehicles by 10.2% and GSP by 11.5%. The rate of increase in growth of VKT slowed during 2002–03. Figure 2.12 shows these changes indexed to 1991 levels.

Figure 2.12: Private transport, population and GSP in Sydney, 1999–2003, indexed to 1991

Source: TPDC data 2003

Over 70% of weekday trips in Sydney during 2003 were made by private car (TPDC 2005c). A growing economy, relatively cheaper cars and lower unemployment have boosted new car sales since 2000 and an increase in travel for all purposes. Rising household incomes have also resulted in greater disposable income for spending on social and recreational activities and domestic support services, which add to travel demand. Transport needs continue to change with the ageing population, an increase in single-person households, and more active retirees.

The most recent data available on the reasons for travel in Sydney is drawn from the 2003 Sydney Household Travel Survey (Figure 2.13). In 2003, Sydneysiders made 15.8 million trips on an average weekday, at a rate of 3.82 trips per person, and 13.5 million trips on weekend days or 3.26 trips per person. Half the trips each day were less than five kilometres and the majority were made by car.

The main reasons for travel were social and recreational activities, shopping and personal business. About one-quarter of all weekday trips were work-related. On weekends, almost half of all trips were for social and recreational purposes. Over the last decade, social/recreational trips have grown faster than other reasons for travel, although this trend has slowed recently (TPDC 2005b).

Figure 2.13: Average weekday and weekend trip purposes in Sydney, 2003

Source: TPDC data 2003

There are regional differences in the way people travel. The further people live from the CBD, the longer their trips tend to be and the greater their reliance on car travel as opposed to such modes as walking and cycling. In eastern Sydney, almost 30% of all weekday trips are made by walking or cycling, while in north-western and south-western Sydney, walking and cycling account for only 11% of trips (TPDC data 2003).

Since 1981, the proportion of children driven to school in Sydney has doubled to more than 50%, while the share of walking and cycling has almost halved to about 20% (Figure 2.14). These car trips tend to be short, may involve two cold starts per day, and contribute significantly to the demand by families for a second car (Smith & Scott 2006), as well as to local road congestion.

Figure 2.14: Travel to school, Sydney

Source: TPDC data 2003

Transport modes

Sydney has the highest use of public transport of all Australian capital cities, with 22% of people using it to travel to work compared with less than 13% in Melbourne and Brisbane (DoP 2005a). However, between 1999 and 2003 car use in Sydney increased relative to public transport, walking and cycling, for both weekday and weekend travel.

Figure 2.15 shows that vehicle trips (with an annual average growth of 1.3% between 1999 and 2003) have kept pace with total trips (which rose by 1.1% annually). Walking trips had comparable growth of 1.2% annually on average and maintained their share of around 17%. Over this period, public transport trips declined by about 1% each year (TPDC 2005b).

Figure 2.15: Mode of travel, average weekday in Sydney, 1999–2003, indexed to 1999

Source: TPDC data 2003

Newcastle and Illawarra residents make more trips by car than Sydneysiders and fewer use public transport or walk (TPDC 2005c). This greater use of cars is supported by higher vehicle ownership: 1.59 vehicles per household in Newcastle and 1.49 in the Illawarra, compared with 1.46 in Sydney. While their frequency of public transport use is less, Newcastle and Illawarra residents travel further per trip than their Sydney counterparts. Related to this is the smaller proportion of 'walk-linked' trips to access public transport in the two regions. This regional disparity is indicative of the different levels of public transport service available in the three areas.

Figure 2.16 shows public transport patronage for Sydney between 1980–81 and 2004–05. The overall patronage for Government bus services (Sydney Buses) remained fairly stable. CityRail patronage increased overall, consistent with population growth up until an exceptional peak during the 2000 Olympics, but since then it has declined slightly each year (TPDC data).

Recent data shows an increase in rail patronage in the December 2005 quarter compared with the same quarter the previous year (CityRail data, 2006) and increases in bus patronage in February–April 2006 (Ministry of Transport data 2006). It is too early to tell if these changes indicate a trend reversal.

Figure 2.16: Patronage of Sydney Buses and CityRail, 1980–81 to 2004–05

Source: Compiled by TPDC from ABS publications and STA and CityRail annual reports

Notes: Covers Sydney Statistical Division and includes Olympic patronage.
Patronage is a total annual estimate
Population is at 30 June ending each financial year.
Does not include patronage on private buses.
Includes data for the Liverpool–Parramatta Bus Transitway from February 2004.

Freight transport modes

In 2001, 86% of Sydney's freight was moved by road and this proportion has increased over time at the expense of alternative modes, including rail. In 2000–01, 338 million tonnes of goods and commodities were moved into, out of, through and within Sydney, equivalent to a compound annual growth rate of 7.4% since 1995–96 (DoP 2005a).

This growth in road freight traffic has resulted in increased impacts, such as air pollution, noise, vibration, light spill (from headlamps) (DoP 2005c) and increased greenhouse gas emissions. Impacts on local communities are most acute along major roads and, to a lesser extent, along rail freight corridors in Sydney. Residential areas close to industrial depots and other freight-generating activities may also be affected by noise and light spill.

Most freight trips are generated in areas near ports or with high concentrations of industrial sites and warehouses, such as Port Botany. Freight activities have spread across Sydney, concentrated close to the M4 and M5 motorways. Freight movements are likely to increase in western Sydney in response to the availability of industrial land in the outer west and south-west of the city, combined with the newly opened M7 Motorway. The new infrastructure has resulted in considerable industrial activity within the motorway corridor, particularly near the junction of the M4 and M7 motorways.

The mode of transport chosen by shippers is influenced by several factors, including reliability (DoP 2005a). Road freight operators are experiencing heavier levels of congestion, particularly at locations such as Port Botany, and estimated costs of congestion are likely to increase with the closure of the last remaining container facilities at Darling Harbour. As such, there is a need to encourage the greater use of rail freight through improved infrastructure and, where rail is not an option, to promote greater efficiency of road freight movements.

Energy efficiency and emissions

Motor vehicles are the major source of air pollution in Sydney (EPA 2003a), accounting for:

• 71% of the emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NO_X)
• 38% of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions
• 12% of fine particulate emissions.

While tighter vehicle and fuel standards have reduced the emissions of NO_x, the ongoing increase in vehicle numbers and use mean they still remain the most significant source of air pollution in Sydney (see Atmosphere 3.3 and Atmosphere 3.4). The popularity of powerful four-wheel-drive vehicles (4WDs) has continued. Accounting for around 17% of all new vehicle sales in NSW (up from 8% in 1992), 4WDs use more fuel than smaller passenger vehicles.

Passenger car travel accounts for the majority of emissions and fuel consumption, but road freight has a disproportionately higher effect on the environment relative to its mode share (Figure 2.17). Light commercial vehicles, rigid trucks and articulated trucks collectively accounted for 17% of all NSW registered vehicles in 2003, but consumed 31% of the 8.5 gigalitres of fuel used by all road transport users, and produced 33% of the 18.9 gigagrams of CO₂-equivalent emissions (which is expected to grow to 38% by 2020) (DoP 2005c).

Figure 2.17: NSW vehicle type, fuel consumption and emissions, 2003

Source: BTRE 2002; ABS 2004c; ABS 2004d

For passenger transport, a car uses by far the most energy (operating and manufacturing) per passenger-kilometre than any other transport mode (Table 2.3). Rail is at least three times more energy efficient than road for moving freight.

Table 2.3: Estimated energy use by transport mode

Source: AGO 2002

Notes: Energy use per passenger-kilometre depends on vehicle occupancy. Sydney has a higher occupancy of public transport vehicles than the national average, thus energy use is likely to be even lower in Sydney for public transport.

Response to the issue

Integrated land-use and transport planning

Integrated land-use and transport planning aims to reduce dependence on cars by improving access to public transport, walking and cycling; providing facilities nearby so people travel shorter distances; and encouraging multi-purpose trips, which reduces the total number of trips.

A focus of the NSW Government's Metropolitan Strategy: City of Cities – A Plan for Sydney's Future (the Metropolitan Strategy) (see Human Settlement 2.1) is to integrate land-use and transport planning to reduce the growing number of trips by individual motor vehicles and improve air quality (DoP 2005a). The strategy also recognises the need to manage the impact of transport emissions at the local level by separating sensitive land uses from significant emission sources, such as industry and arterial roads. The Metropolitan Strategy is itself a set of targeted strategies which aim to:

• improve local and regional walking and cycling networks by implementing the Planning Guidelines for Walking and Cycling (DIPNR 2004b)
• develop a metropolitan parking policy that supports access to public transport, consistent with the Integrating Land-use and Transport package (DUAP 2001)
• implement Travel Smart voluntary travel behaviour change programs targeted at households, schools and other locations which generate significant travel – the Department of Planning, State Transit and the Australian Greenhouse Office have trialled a NSW Travel Smart Pilot Project in Woy Woy and Ermington.

Other components of the Metropolitan Strategy – the Centres and Corridors and Transport strategies – incorporate actions that aim to improve the existing transport system and increase the use of public transport in Sydney.

The Metropolitan Strategy also aims to reduce the impact of freight movements in Sydney by increasing freight efficiency, improving land-use planning, doubling the proportion of freight carried by rail from Port Botany to 40%, reducing emissions from diesel vehicles, and improving noise management along rail lines. Local planning and assessment processes will also need to be consistent with the Metropolitan Strategy.

A key plank of the Government's strategy to integrate urban and transport planning and help contain VKT has been the Integrating Land Use and Transport (ILUT) policy package (DUAP 2001). ILUT aims to advise and support local councils, State agencies and developers to achieve better land-use and transport integration in urban centres throughout NSW. The policy package includes planning for business and services location; improving transport choice; draft State Environmental Planning Policy 66: Integration of Land use and Transport; and employment and journey-to-work patterns in the Sydney metropolitan region. The major centres mentioned in the policy have been superseded by those in the Metropolitan Strategy (DoP 2005a).

Transport Management and Accessibility Plans are a planning tool to guide major developments. The Government is requiring developers of new land releases and rezonings in greenfield sites to prepare the plans to address traffic, public transport, walking and cycling issues. Plans have already been prepared for several major western Sydney sites, including Eastern Creek and the former ADI site at St Marys.

State Environmental Planning Policy 53 requires transport studies as part of residential development strategies for the GMR₁ and supports urban consolidation on sites that are well located in relation to transport, jobs and services.

Reducing vehicle emissions

New national vehicle design rules, combined with cleaner fuel standards for petrol and diesel, are leading to the use of more advanced emission control technologies. In tandem, the NSW Government is implementing several plans to improve vehicle emission standards.

Action for Air (NSW Government 1998) is a 25-year air quality management plan that sets key roles for the Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) in reducing vehicle emissions through:

• advocating for new, tighter national fuel quality and emission standards for vehicles
• reducing emissions from in-service vehicles
• promoting alternative fuels.

The Government's Cleaner Vehicles Action Plan has a range of measures including:

• Clean Car benchmarks, released in 2003, which rate new light vehicles according to their emissions performance on noxious and greenhouse gases
• the Cleaner NSW Government Fleet Program, which requires that all Government agencies develop fleet improvement plans which support the purchase of smaller, less polluting vehicles
• development of a voluntary clean fleet program by private companies
• contributions to the development of a Commonwealth 'green' vehicle guide.

A contract has been established by NSW Procurement for the purchase of ethanol blended fuel and biodiesel for its fleet vehicles. Other fuels, such as LPG, are already included in the contract.

The NSW Government recently announced a plan to introduce a 10% mandatory ethanol fuel content by 2011. This target will be subject to the findings of a Taskforce established to consult with industry and the community. This will ensure that there is a reliable supply and sufficient community confidence in the product before 2011.

Other Government initiatives include the trialling of hybrid vehicle taxis in Sydney and the replacement of old diesel buses with new diesel or gas-powered buses. The NSW Greenhouse Plan 2005 (NSW Government 2005) commits to developing a heavy vehicle environmental rating scheme.

Details of vehicle emission reductions are provided in Atmosphere 3.3.

Redirecting freight from road to rail

Government initiatives that aim to redirect freight from road to rail include improvements to freight rail infrastructure through the national freight rail network and commissioning of the Freight Infrastructure Advisory Board. As part of the expansion of Port Botany, the Government has adopted the target of doubling rail's share of the movement of freight containers at the port to 40% by 2011.

The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) agreed in 2006 to review the main causes of congestion in national freight corridors, with the aim of improving the efficiency of Australia's transport infrastructure. However, solutions to managing the traffic congestion problem may increase the VKT of cars and trucks.

Public transport

In 2003, a ministerial inquiry into sustainable transport in NSW considered the scope for structural reforms to public transport in such areas as funding and contracting arrangements, service levels, and fares and concessions. As a result, in 2004 the Government initiated bus reforms which included consolidation of bus contract regions, identification of a strategic bus corridor network, and a $135-million program to improve bus priority in traffic.

Since 1998, projects completed to provide new public transport infrastructure have included construction of the airport rail link, the Sydney Olympic Park rail loop and the Liverpool–Parramatta Bus Transitway; extension of the light rail to Lilyfield; and continued extension of road-based bus priority measures. The $1-billion Rail Clearways Program, combined with new rolling stock and the Metropolitan Rail Expansion Program, aim to improve the performance and reliability of rail services.

Encouraging walking and cycling

Planning Guidelines for Walking and Cycling (DIPNR 2004b) assists councils, communities and the development industry improve planning for more active forms of transport. The guidelines include information, concepts, case studies and illustrations, and add a walking and cycling component to the ILUT package, complementing the RTA's NSW Bicycle Guidelines (RTA 2003) for planning and designing bicycle facilities.

The Metropolitan Strategy (DoP 2005a) and the NSW Greenhouse Plan 2005 (NSW Government 2005) support programs that increase the safety and awareness of cycling and walking in NSW.

Wherever practicable, the NSW Government has continued to build off-road shared paths when new roads are built and also to link with purpose-built shared paths on existing roads where possible.

Future directions

There is further opportunity to achieve improved fuel and vehicle-emission standards by accelerating the adoption of cleaner technologies, including improved minimum energy standards for new conventional vehicles and hybrids. Given the anticipated growth in road freight, new fuel technologies to reduce the impacts of light commercial and heavy-duty vehicles should be considered. Important initiatives to reduce emissions that could be expanded in future include fitting of particle traps to diesel vehicles and recovery of petrol vapour at service stations. There is also a need to encourage the use of rail freight through continued improvements to infrastructure.

Strategies to encourage the greater use of practical non-car modes of transport will remain a priority, from an environmental perspective as well as to address car-related health impacts, such as obesity. Action for Air sets targets to contain per capita growth in VKT by 2011 and then stop growth completely by 2021. This will require a whole-of-government approach: altering travel trends will need a combination of integrated land-use and transport planning under the Metropolitan Strategy, coupled with improvements to the public transport system to build confidence in its availability, reliability and safety, and direct measures to influence travel behaviour, such as transport and parking price mechanisms. Reform of the Commonwealth Fringe Benefits Tax could reduce the incentives to buy or lease new vehicles. Supportive strategies could encourage cleaner and more fuel-efficient vehicles.

Rising fuel prices may emerge as a key driver of changing travel behaviour. Based on consumer responses to the price spikes in 2005 and 2006, price increases could result in improved public transport patronage, reduced car use and a decline in sales of less fuel-efficient vehicles.