Brisbane takes over from Sydney, Melbourne for Australia’s worst traffic

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Brisbane has overtaken Sydney and Melbourne for the worst road congestion in Australia, a report has revealed.

More Brisbane residents are driving to work in 2023 compared to last year, choosing to battle crippling congestion 3.9 days of the week, Transurban’s mobility trend report says.

The number of commuters has now surpassed Melbourne and Sydney, where drivers take to the roads only 3.6 or 3.8 days of the week respectively.

Brisbanites were also found to be most bothered by rising congestion levels and most concerned about worsening traffic conditions, revealing they had little faith in the state government’s ability to provide infrastructure that keeps up with population growth.

Additional traffic data to be released by Transurban also showed an increase in Brisbane drivers choosing to pay to take toll roads to reduce their commute times and avoid congestion.

Brisbane’s traffic isn’t getting any better.

“Our traffic data shows that more people than ever before are using Brisbane’s toll roads,” a Transurban spokeswoman said, with nearly 65 per cent of residents preferring driving over public transport.

With the population of the South East expected to hit five million by 2032, Transurban predicts congestion will rise by at least 23 per cent over the next decade.

The Royal Automobile Club of Queensland has already issued several warnings to the government, pleading for urgent strategic infrastructure and public transport planning to help prepare roads.

Traffic data released by RACQ in July revealed more than 260 problematic hot spots in the South East corner alone.

RACQ’s head of public policy Dr Michael Kane said the South East was facing dysfunction if action wasn’t taken.