Over 70 per cent of all domestic passenger movements within Australia occur on roads. Driving remains by far the preferred means of transport within cities and for trips up to 400 kilometres. This is resulting in suboptimal energy efficiency and a congestion cost to the economy of $15 billion per year.14 Based on current trends, congestion will increase, imposing burdens on those living in Australian cities, those seeking to move goods through Australian cities and to the national economy. Particular constraints on freeways and highways will emerge, constraining productivity within cities and regions.
Over 75 per cent of non-bulk domestic freight is carried on roads, dominating freight movements between Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide. Truck traffic is predicted to increase by around 50 per cent to 2030. Governments face challenges gaining community acceptance of larger heavy vehicles and funding road infrastructure improvements to service both a larger freight task and a growing light commercial vehicle task. The volatility of oil prices will continue to impact sector competitiveness.
Road transport is an essential element of the Australian transport network, and enabler of the Australian economy. Australia relies heavily on road transport due to Australia's large area and low population density in considerable parts of the country.
Another reason for the reliance upon roads is that the Australian rail network has not been sufficiently developed for a lot of the freight and passenger requirements in most areas of Australia. This has meant that goods that would otherwise be transported by rail are moved across Australia via road trains.