Urban Mobility Trends report lifts lid on Brisbane traffic issues

South East Queenslanders are the most concerned about congestion of any residents in the country, shifting their travel behaviour to avoid traffic, new data has revealed.

South East Queenslanders are the most concerned about congestion of any residents in the country, shifting their travel behaviour to avoid traffic, new data has revealed.

The fifth annual Urban Mobility Trends report by toll road operator Transurban, to be released on Thursday, shows 73 per cent of people are more concerned about current congestion levels – a four-point increase on the previous year.

Eighty-two per cent were concerned about the impact of rising congestion over the next decade.

A third of motorists made travel choices to try to avoid congestion by travelling outside peak hour whenever possible. This was despite half of people saying they had the flexibility to alter their work start and finish times.

Transurban general manager (Queensland) Theuns Lloyd said Brisbane was getting busier every day, and the research shows a clearer picture of how, where and why people were travelling across the city.

Queensland commuters are more concerned about traffic than any others across the country. Picture David Clark

“Brisbane has a good mix of transport options to keep everyone moving, so as population growth continues, it’s an opportune time to ask ourselves what we want our commutes to look like in the future,” he said.

“We know high population growth is continuing to put pressure on South East Queensland’s transport infrastructure, causing increased congestion across the road network.

“This research shows there is significant potential for motorists to use flexible working to help flatten the congestion curve, by adjusting their commuting habits to beat peak-hour traffic.”

In Brisbane the top five big decisions people are making to save are delaying large purchases such as upgrading their car, switching energy providers or their phone or internet plan, cancelling subscriptions, automating their savings, and switching or cancelling their insurance.

Transurban has been running a 12c-per-litre fuel discount program through its Linkt rewards program until early August.

General manager (customer experience) Chris Jackson said: “The cost of fuel represents a considerable portion of household budgets.

“In Brisbane, 56 per cent of people raised cost of fuel as a concern, which is why we’re encouraging eligible motorists to redeem their fuel discount to save up to $2m worth of fuel before it expires.”

The report showed two-thirds of people used a car to travel to work in Brisbane – the highest nationally – with 58 per cent driving daily.

Transurban traffic data showed that 6am-7am, 2pm-3pm and 6pm-7pm were the best times to travel and beat the peak-hour traffic.

It comes as 40 per cent of Australian respondents said increased productivity and collaboration with colleagues was the reason to go to the workplace more in the next year.