Chapter - Transport activity (2024)

22.6 DOMESTIC AIRLINE ACTIVITY, Major and regional airlines
	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
	'000	'000	'000	'000	'000	'000	'000
Hours flown	749	751	788	759	667	693	783
Aircraft departures	585	588	606	564	479	477	522
Source: Department of Transport and Regional Services.

In addition to the scheduled services of domestic and regional airlines, the range of activities undertaken by the general aviation industry includes business flying, aerial agriculture, charter, training and private flying (table 22.7). Charter and private/business activity accounted for 53% of general aviation hours flown in 2004.

22.7 GENERAL AVIATION ACTIVITY, Hours flown
	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004(a)
	'000	'000	'000	'000	'000	'000	'000	'000
Charter	487	498	508	480	469	446	429	478
Agricultural	137	147	135	124	114	71	70	88
Flying training	455	484	454	419	411	411	420	356
Other aerial work	315	319	314	304	300	327	344	341
Private/business	446	430	432	388	409	412	383	406
Total	1,839	1,878	1,842	1,715	1,703	1,667	1,646	1,669
(a) Provisional data.Source: Department of Transport and Regional Services.

ROAD TRANSPORT ACTIVITY

Motor vehicles travelled an estimated total distance of 201,497 million kilometres (km) in the year ended 31 October 2003, at an average of 15,900 km per vehicle (table 22.8). Business use accounted for an estimated 35% of aggregate distance travelled, and private use 65%. Of total private use travel, 33% consisted of travel to and from work, and 67% for personal and other use travel.

22.8 BUSINESS AND PRIVATE VEHICLE USE - Year ended 31 October 2003
	Business			Private
Type of vehicle	Laden	Unladen	Total(a)	To and from work	Personal and other use	Total
TOTAL KILOMETRES TRAVELLED (million)
Passenger vehicles	. .	. .	33,951	37,846	79,946	151,743
Motor cycles	. .	. .	*156	*362	*858	1,376
Light commercial vehicles	15,346	5,470	20,817	5,201	6,653	32,671
Rigid trucks	5,425	2,116	7,541	*137	*89	7,768
Articulated trucks	4,399	1,437	5,836	*5	*1	5,841
Non-freight carrying trucks	. .	. .	201	**2	-	203
Buses	. .	. .	1,805	*22	*66	1,893
Total	25,171	9,023	70,307	43,575	87,615	201,497
AVERAGE KILOMETRES TRAVELLED(b) (’000)
Passenger vehicles	. .	. .	11.1	7.2	8.9	15.1
Motor cycles	. .	. .	*3.1	*3.7	3.5	4.6
Light commercial vehicles	14.9	8.8	18.7	8.2	7.0	18.0
Rigid trucks	17.6	9.0	24.4	*6.2	*3.6	23.9
Articulated trucks	75.9	29.5	99.8	*4.4	*1.8	99.4
Non-freight carrying trucks	. .	. .	12.3	*7.0	*0.9	12.2
Buses	. .	. .	33.6	*5.9	*9.2	32.4
Total	18.0	9.9	15.1	7.2	8.6	15.9
(a) Includes business travel of non-freight carrying vehicles. (b) Average distance travelled for registered vehicles which were used.Source: Survey of Motor Vehicle Use, Australia, 12 months ended 31 October 2003 (9208.0).

The localities in which motor vehicles travelled are described in table 22.9. Only 5% of total distance travelled represented interstate trips, while 54% of trips were within the capital city of the state or territory in which the vehicle was registered.

22.9 AREA OF OPERATION - Year ended 31 October 2003
	Within state/territory of registration
Type of vehicle	Capital city	Provincial urban	Other areas of state/territory	Total	Interstate	Australia
TOTAL KILOMETRES TRAVELLED (million)
Passenger vehicles	87,951	21,381	35,301	144,633	*7,110	151,743
Motor cycles	*559	*251	*521	1,331	*45	1,376
Light commercial vehicles	14,470	5,134	12,143	31,747	*924	32,671
Rigid trucks	3,809	972	2,587	7,369	*399	7,768
Articulated trucks	1,067	389	2,705	4,162	1,680	5,841
Non-freight carrying trucks	*101	*33	*62	196	*8	203
Buses	887	364	570	1,821	*72	1,893
Total	108,844	28,524	53,890	191,258	10,238	201,497
AVERAGE KILOMETRES TRAVELLED(a) (’000)
Passenger vehicles	11.7	7.4	9.9	14.5	*6.8	15.1
Motor cycles	*3.6	*2.7	*4.0	4.4	*2.1	4.6
Light commercial vehicles	15.7	10.1	13.8	17.6	*6.4	18.0
Rigid trucks	24.4	13.4	15.7	22.8	*21.7	23.9
Articulated trucks	30.0	21.5	63.0	72.5	89.1	99.4
Non-freight carrying trucks	14.7	*9.3	*7.6	11.9	**10.6	12.2
Buses	28.7	22.7	23.1	31.4	*19.8	32.4
Total	12.3	7.9	11.2	15.2	8.2	15.9
(a) Average distance travelled for registered vehicles which were used.Source: Survey of Motor Vehicle Use, Australia, 12 months ended 31 October 2003 (9208.0).

TRANSPORT PASSENGER ACTIVITY

Personal travel occurs for many reasons, including school, business, recreation and travel to and from work. While road transport accounts for the majority of domestic passenger trips undertaken, rail services are used by a considerable number of urban commuters. Air services provide for a large proportion of long distance passenger travel.

Road passenger vehicle activity

In the year ended 31 October 2003 Australia's ten million passenger vehicles travelled an estimated 152 billion km (table 22.10), each averaging just under 14,600 km per year. Just under 378,500 motor cycles travelled 1.4 billion km, while the fleet of just over 60,000 buses travelled 1.9 billion km.

22.10 MOTOR VEHICLE USE, By state/territory of registration - 2003
	Passenger vehicles	Motor cycles	Buses
TOTAL KILOMETRES TRAVELLED (million)
New South Wales	47,556	*306	538
Victoria	42,664	*340	345
Queensland	27,588	*473	465
South Australia	11,543	*65	136
Western Australia	15,435	*120	262
Tasmania	3,297	*38	40
Northern Territory	938	*9	74
Australian Capital Territory	2,723	*25	34
Australia	151,743	1,376	1,893
NUMBER OF VEHICLES(a)
New South Wales	3,179,234	99,252	16,608
Victoria	2,832,324	103,451	13,115
Queensland	1,911,224	81,912	14,029
South Australia	870,544	27,942	3,805
Western Australia	1,118,998	46,855	8,116
Tasmania	251,784	8,884	1,621
Northern Territory	67,624	3,296	1,911
Australian Capital Territory	183,433	6,884	828
Australia	10,415,165	378,475	60,033
(a) The average number of vehicles registered for the 12 months. Includes registered vehicles that did not travel during the reference period.Source: Survey of Motor Vehicle Use, Australia, 12 months ended 31 October 2003 (9208.0).

Rail passenger activity

The passenger operations of rail operators are shown in table 22.11. The number of total urban passengers increased by 28% over the period 1992-93 to 2001-02. Between 2001-02 and 2002-03 urban heavy rail and tram/light rail passenger numbers decreased by 6% and 16% respectively, while non-urban passenger numbers fell by 25%. Between 2002-03 and 2003-04 the number of urban passengers using heavy rail rose marginally, while tram/light urban rail and non-urban rail numbers were unchanged. Heavy rail has consistently accounted for more than three-quarters of urban rail passenger operations.

22.11 RAIL PASSENGER OPERATIONS(a)
	Urban
	Heavy rail	Tram and light rail	Total	Non-urban	Total
	million persons	million persons	million persons	million persons	million persons
1992-93	396	103	498	7	505
1993-94	402	106	507	8	516
1994-95	420	111	530	9	539
1995-96	441	116	556	9	566
1996-97	456	118	574	10	584
1997-98	457	121	578	10	588
1998-99	463	123	585	10	595
1999-2000	482	137	619	11	629
2000-01	498	137	634	12	646
2001-02	493	143	636	12	648
2002-03	466	120	586	9	595
2003-04	469	120	589	9	598
(a) Excludes tourist services.Source: Australasian Railway Association Inc.

Domestic air passenger activity

At 30 June 2004 there were three major domestic airlines operating in Australia - Qantas, Virgin Blue and Jetstar - providing scheduled services to the major airports. Regional airlines provided connecting services to the regional airports. There are 256 regulated airports in Australia and its external territories.

Passenger departures were 14% higher in 2004, compared with 2003 (table 22.12), while the percentage of vacant seat kilometres increased from 20% to 21%. In 2004 domestic airlines accounted for 88% of total Australian domestic passenger departures, and regional airlines 12%.

22.12 DOMESTIC AIRLINE ACTIVITY
		Units	1998	1999	2000(a)	2001(a)	2002(a)	2003(a)	2004(a)
Passenger departures(b)
	Domestic airlines	'000	23,575	24,392	25,660	26,152	25,808	28,949	33,133
	Regional airlines	'000	4,851	5,039	5,929	5,668	4,354	4,165	4,701
	Total	'000	28,426	29,431	31,590	31,820	30,162	33,114	37,834
Other activity (domestic airlines only)
	Passenger kilometres performed(c)	million	26,774	27,853	29,601	30,410	30,565	34,643	40,099
	Seat kilometres available(d)	million	35,467	36,119	38,232	39,739	38,640	43,202	50,843
	Percentage of vacant seat kilometres	%	24.5	22.9	22.6	23.5	20.9	19.8	21.1
(a) Includes estimates for regional airlines data. (b) The unit of measurement is traffic on board (which includes transit traffic). Includes revenue passengers only. (c) The sum for all flights of the number of passengers on each flight multiplied by the distance travelled. (d) The sum for all flights of the number of seats on a flight multiplied by distance travelled.Source: Department of Transport and Regional Services.

The number of domestic passengers boarding airlines at the principal airports is shown in table 22.13. In 2004 all principal airports recorded increases in passenger movements compared with 2003. The strongest growth was recorded in Hobart and Coolangatta (25%), followed by Launceston (22%), Canberra (17%), and Darwin and Cairns (15%). Sydney recorded the lowest level of growth (10%).

22.13 DOMESTIC PASSENGER MOVEMENTS(a)
	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
Principal airport	'000	'000	'000	'000	'000	'000	'000
Sydney	(b)14,276	(b)14,882	16,241	(b)16,565	(b)15,188	(b)16,536	(b)18,233
Melbourne	11,429	(b)11,901	12,934	(b)13,266	(b)12,883	(b)14,021	(b)15,815
Brisbane	(b)7,438	(b)7,833	8,811	(b)9,946	(b)9,164	(b)10,105	(b)11,519
Adelaide	(b)3,789	(b)3,861	3,963	(b)4,182	(b)3,994	(b)4,384	(b)4,844
Perth	3,236	3,258	3,463	3,342	3,371	3,893	4,425
Canberra	1,805	1,901	2,041	(b)1,973	(b)1,885	(b)2,074	(b)2,434
Hobart	(b)856	(b)878	928	(b)996	(b)948	(b)1,102	(b)1,381
Darwin	854	(b)879	907	(b)848	(b)894	(b)924	(b)1,062
Cairns	1,916	(b)2,023	2,133	(b)2,025	(b)2,088	(b)2,247	(b)2,583
Coolangatta	1,889	(b)1,938	1,918	(b)1,832	(b)1,912	(b)2,143	(b)2,678
Townsville	(b)704	(b)740	772	(b)806	(b)781	(b)889	(b)1,004
Launceston	536	(b)545	532	(b)509	(b)570	(b)608	(b)743
(a) The number of passengers on board arriving at or departing from each airport. Includes passengers in transit, who are counted as both arrivals and departures at airports through which they transit. (b) Includes estimates for unreported data.Source: Department of Transport and Regional Services.

International air passenger activity

Passengers arriving, or departing, Australia, primarily travel by air.

Of total international passengers (19.4 million) carried to and from Australia in 2004 (table 22.14), 4.7 million travelled between Australia and New Zealand and 3.3 million travelled between Australia and Singapore.

22.14 SCHEDULED INTERNATIONAL PASSENGER TRAFFIC TO AND FROM AUSTRALIA - 2004
	Inbound	Outbound	Total
Country to/from	'000 passengers	'000 passengers	'000 passengers
Argentina	16.1	16.1	32.2
Austria	91.1	91.9	183.0
Bahrain	49.3	52.0	101.3
Brunei	49.5	52.6	102.1
Canada	50.5	54.2	104.7
Chile	19.7	20.4	40.1
China (excl. SARs & Taiwan)	180.4	172.6	353.0
Fiji	219.4	223.2	442.6
France	7.9	7.5	15.4
Germany	39.5	39.0	78.5
Greece	0.3	-	0.3
Guam	13.4	14.0	27.4
Hong Kong (SAR of China)	692.3	665.9	1,358.2
India	13.3	14.3	27.5
Indonesia	393.0	396.8	789.8
Japan	849.6	838.5	1,688.1
Korea, Republic of (South)	212.2	204.6	416.8
Malaysia	529.0	518.3	1,047.3
Mauritius	19.2	18.5	37.7
Nauru	4.9	4.5	9.4
New Caledonia	62.5	60.9	123.3
New Zealand	2,312.8	2,352.4	4,665.2
Papua New Guinea	65.6	67.4	133.0
Philippines	80.9	78.4	159.3
Singapore	1,677.3	1,614.6	3,291.9
Solomon Islands	12.6	13.0	25.5
South Africa	111.7	100.2	212.0
Taiwan	101.9	102.3	204.1
Thailand	431.6	433.6	865.2
Tonga	2.8	2.4	5.2
United Kingdom	305.1	308.8	614.0
United Arab Emirates	288.5	282.1	570.6
United States of America	724.2	726.8	1,451.0
Vanuatu	34.4	34.2	68.6
Vietnam	39.3	74.6	114.0
Western Samoa	5.9	6.8	12.6
Total	9,707.6	9,663.5	19,371.1
Source: Department of Transport and Regional Services.

Table 22.15 shows the number of international passengers who travelled through each of Australia's international airports. Sydney's share of total international passenger traffic was 46% in 2004, followed by Melbourne with 20%, and Brisbane with 17%. In 2004 Adelaide's international passenger numbers were 38% higher than in the previous year. International passenger numbers at the Gold Coast/Coolangatta airport were marginally lower (2%) in 2004 compared with 2003.

22.15 INTERNATIONAL PASSENGER TRAFFIC THROUGH AUSTRALIAN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS
	2002	2003	2004
Airport	'000 passengers	'000 passengers	'000 passengers
Sydney	8,006.8	7,929.8	8,951.8
Melbourne	3,313.8	3,199.5	3,936.4
Brisbane	2,493.1	2,549.4	3,266.5
Perth	1,636.4	1,586.6	1,827.4
Cairns	766.3	746.6	846.8
Adelaide	224.4	206.8	286.1
Darwin	103.2	77.7	98.4
Gold Coast/Coolangatta	113.1	138.9	136.4
Norfolk Island	15.9	15.3	19.2
Newcastle(a)	9.5	-	-
Canberra(b)	-	-	2.0
Total	16,682.4	16,450.7	19,371.1
(a) International operations commenced December 2001 and ceased September 2002. (b) International operations commenced July 2004 and ceased September 2004.Source: Department of Transport and Regional Services.