Australia’s worst road traffic black spots: Sydney loses worst congestion title to another city

Revealed: Melbourne is ranked the most congested city in the country – and it’s taking Sydney drivers longer to get to work during morning peak-hour

  • Melbourne overtakes Sydney for worst traffic and road congestion in Australia 
  • Australian Automobile Association completed the study with five years of data 
  • Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney recorded lower average travel times for trips
  • Adelaide records the slowest average speed of Australian capital cities

Melbourne has been ranked the most congested city in the country – but it’s Sydney drivers who are spending the longest time on their morning commutes. 

Figures from the Australian Automobile Association revealed that while Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane have all recorded increased traffic and road use, Melbourne has become the country’s new hot spot for traffic congestion. 

Drivers in the city are gaining up to 46 seconds in travel time over their 30 kilometre journeys.

Drivers in Sydney are spending more time in their cars on a morning commute. Map shows how many minutes each driver is spending longer in their vehicle as they travel to work in peak hour

Data was taken over a five-year period across the categories of average speed, morning and afternoon peak hour average speed, percentage of speed limit and free flow traffic, and variability between measurements.

Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane all recorded lower average speeds and increased congestion, making them the most densely populated roads in Australia.

Melbourne earned the worst rating, with all nine CBD journeys including Parkville, Epping and the airport posting slower and longer average driving times since 2013.

The CBD-airport run in Melbourne was particularly bad, with average speeds across this route dropping by 19%, which is 10-times the average of other capital cities.

When measured against the speed limit, Melbourne drivers will hit the maximum allowed speed only 78.3% of the time, recording the largest decline in average speed across the country, dropping 2.7%. 

While Sydney had eight of 11 location case studies posting further declining results, CBD trips from Penrith, Parramatta and Campbelltown logged faster speeds and journeys, with drivers arriving at their destination on average 1.3 minutes earlier than five years ago.

Sydney has had the largest drop in morning speed, but is logging faster arrival times than our Southern neighbours by 1.3%. 

Adelaide recorded lower average speeds than every other capital city at just 55.5km/hr, nearly 10km/hr below the country average.

Melbourne has been ranked the most congested city in the country. Map shows how many minutes each driver is spending longer in their vehicle as they travel to work in peak hour

Melbourne has been ranked the most congested city in the country. Map shows how many minutes each driver is spending longer in their vehicle as they travel to work in peak hour

If road rage is your vice and CBD traffic is driving you up the wall, Canberra is the pick of the Australian metro driving network, with average speeds increasing and less driving time logged every year for the past five years.

Speaking on Melbourne’s 3AW radio this morning, Marion Terrill, the Transport and Cities Director at the Grattan Institute in Melbourne suggested taking alternative travel methods using public transport, or using flexible hours to travel outside of peak times. 

‘You don’t need a lot of people to change their mind about going at peak times for it to make quite a big difference for everybody else,’ Terill said.

With more and more drivers hitting the road every day, traffic will continue to worsen, with the report suggesting congestion costs will reach $23 billion from 2018-19, and without change in government policy, could reach the $40 billion mark in 2030.

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk