Brisbane average commuting time hits 67 minutes, behind only Sydney

Brisbane has overtaken Melbourne as the second worst city in the country for commuting times.

BRISBANE has overtaken Melbourne as the second worst city for commuting, as times travelling to and from work soar by almost 50 per cent.

While increased commuter times have tested the patience of drivers in Sydney and Melbourne, Brisbane motorists are suffering too, according to a new Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey.

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The data found Brisbane residents spent an average of 67 minutes commuting each day, just four minutes behind Sydneysiders, who clocked up 71 minutes.

Melbourne pulled up in third place with an average commute of 65 minutes.

Brisbane’s commute times have increased by a staggering 45 per cent in recent years, while Sydney and Melbourne were hit by a small increase, 17 per cent and 12 per cent respectively.

Dr Inga Lass, research fellow in the HILDA Survey team, said the increase in commuting times have been more “pronounced” in Brisbane than Melbourne.

“Melbourne used to be number two in 2002, when we first started the survey, but it’s now been overtaken by Brisbane,” she told The Courier-Mail.

Dr Lass said population growth and an increase in housing prices could explain the jump in commute times in recent years.

“An increase in housing prices that I would think would be happening in Brisbane like Sydney and Melbourne, means people are moving out of the cities,” she said.

“And so it takes longer if they still commute into the city for work.”

The Melbourne-based researcher said fathers were more likely to face longer commutes because they were often the breadwinners and more willing to travel for their jobs, while mothers usually preferred to work closer to home.

Darryl Passmore, 44, said he and his wife were so fed up with their long commutes they decided to move homes earlier this year.

The father-of-three, who moved from Parkinson to Greenslopes, said it previously took him about 60 minutes to get to work, including the school drop-off.

Since moving to Greenslopes in January, Mr Passmore said his commute has now halved to just 30 minutes and significantly reduced his toll fares.

“The move cut down our commuting times and tolls. We pretty much don’t pay tolls at the moment. Once a week max. It’s great,” he told The Courier-Mail.

And when he’s not doing the school drop-off, the Greenslopes father said he likes to cycle to work.

“The bikeways are spot on. I ride to work and it takes about 16 minutes door-to-door,” he said.

Mr Passmore said he was shocked that Brisbane pulled up just after Sydney.

“That surprises me that we’re second,” he said.

Asked whether he thinks the traffic has got worse in Brisbane in recent years, he said “yes.”

“I got to the point where I would talk to my boss when I was living in Parkinson and told them I’ve got kids drop-off and pick up so I’m going to work from home.

“Yet now when I’m in Greenslopes, I’m more than happy to drop the kids off then go to work and then not have to leave early to pick the kids up. I’m not getting hit by as much traffic,” he said.

Dr Lass said that long-distance commuters, defined as those who travel two hours or more, often took steps to cut down their commutes.

The studies found that after one year, only 49 per cent of long-distance commuters still battled through the same commute.

“People are quite adjustable. They manage to either change the location where they live or change their job to cut their commute times,” she said.