Commuters in Australia’s most congested city spend 92 hours a year stuck in traffic, burning more than $200 worth of fuel, according to a new study.
Using 10km travel time as a benchmark, Novated Lease found that Melbourne was the most congested city in the country, with residents typically needing 21 minutes to travel 10km.
Drivers in the Victorian capital spend 92 hours a year stuck in traffic jams, emitting 247kg of pollution.
The leasing company calculated that congestion costs Melbourne drivers $205 worth of petrol a year.
Sydney drivers spend 10 per cent less time in traffic jams each year, but travel slightly slower than Melbourne drivers, at 22 minutes per 10km.
Sydney residents’ cars emit an average of 211kg of pollution, which would require 85 trees to offset.
The most congested cities in descending order are Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, Hobart, Newcastle, Gold Coast, Canberra and Wollongong.
The worst day for traffic in 2023 was March 8, when congestion times were about 15 percent longer.
A new study has found that commuters in Australia’s most congested city spend 92 hours a year stuck in traffic, spending more than $200 on fuel each year (file image)
Melbourne (pictured) is the most congested city in the country: travelling 10km takes 21 minutes.
The entire radio system on Sydney’s rail network failed and all trains stopped.
Adelaide drivers spend the equivalent of three full days in traffic every year, with rush hour between 4pm and 5pm reducing traffic to 25 minutes per 10km.
The Victorian government has been forced to cut infrastructure spending as accountants balance the projects against a $156 billion state debt.
The government is cutting infrastructure spending from $24 billion to $15.6 billion over the next four years.
Key road projects under construction include a tunnel that will provide an alternative to the West Gate Bridge.
But costs for a package of 28 joint state-commonwealth projects have risen by $12 billion since December alone.
These include the costs of three regional rail upgrades, suburban highway projects, the state’s most expensive toll road, the North East Link, and major highway interchanges.
The Novated Lease study used data from navigation company TomTom and only considered those areas included in the top 10 due to data availability.