Industry Statistics
Everyday, more Australians are transported by bus and coach on the nation’s road network than rail – even in our largest capital cities. Buses and coaches offer an alternative to the car, plus provide a vital lifeline to individuals and communities, promoting social inclusion and access to education, healthcare, employment and social opportunities.
Did you also know that…
- 79% of Australians use cars for their daily commute
- The life cycle of a bus and its associated services requires a taskforce of over 85,000 Australians
Bus and coach provides a huge range of jobs in communities across the nation, including drivers, mechanics, engineers, skilled production workers and transport professionals (in specialised fields like planning, social work and even psychology). - The economic impact of bus and coach in Australia contributes indirect benefits
As the leading public transport sector, we manage congestion and facilite productivity in our cities and regions. If public transport disappeared overnight, the cities that generate 80% of Australia’s GDP would grind to a halt. - If governments did not provide route and school services, an estimated 1 billion+ passenger trips per year would transfer to an alternative travel mode, such as the car, which could add over 1.4 million cars to our roads. This would impact congestion levels and increase carbon emissions, plus other pollutants.
- By estimates, bus passengers get 41 minutes a day of incidental exercise. If they stopped catching the bus and drove instead, this would reduce to 8 minutes. The health implications for the nation are significant: Two-thirds of Australian adults are already overweight (35.6%) or obese (31.3%).
- If 10 per cent of people started using the bus instead of their car, there could be a reduction to health-related costs of air pollution of $20 million a year, and a reduction in greenhouse emissions of over 400,000 tonnes per year.
- If our manufacturing and supply sector ceased building buses and supplying parts and components, Australia’s economy would stand to lose $5 billion a year, plus a further $1.5 billion to keep buses operational.
- The BIC aims to enhance the sustainability and liveability of Australia’s cities and regions by using buses and coaches
This is one of the reasons behind the decision to commission the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies (University of Sydney) to compile a decade’s worth of national data on our on-road bus fleets, along with operators and their passengers. The data is an important snapshot of our industry’s contribution to Australia’s economy, social wellbeing, city liveability and the governments green agenda.
