8.3% ▲ +3.6%
Higher than 75% of federal electorate areas.
- 2011: 8.0%
- 2016: 9.5%
- 2021: 8.3%
Share of occupied private dwellings with no registered motor vehicle.
Newcastle · Federal Electorate
Transport & Vehicles in Newcastle
How households get around — the vehicles they keep and the journey to work.
Daily travel in Newcastle is dominated by cars, though a very high number of public transport stops makes getting around easier. Roughly 50% of workers drive to their jobs, while a significant 23.9% now work from home. The area is well-served by transit, with more stops and departures per person than the state average.
Vehicles
Motor vehicles per home, and homes with no car.
About 8.3% of homes in Newcastle have no motor vehicle, which is much higher than most areas and has stayed steady since 2011. Most households own either one or two cars, with 38% having one and 37.8% having two.
Motor vehicles per home
View on map →Newcastle splits fairly evenly between 1 vehicle (38%) and 2 vehicles (38%), with 3 vehicles at 11%.
Getting to work
How people travel to work.
Working from home has risen sharply since 2016 to 23.9%, which is a little above the national figure. However, only 1.3% of people use public transport for their commute, a figure that is a little below both the state and national averages.
23.9% —
Higher than 71% of federal electorate areas.
- 2016: 3.6%
- 2021: 23.9%
Share of employed people aged 15+ who worked at home on census day.
1.3% —
Lower than 71% of federal electorate areas.
- 2016: 3.0%
- 2021: 1.3%
Share of employed people who got to work by train, bus, ferry or tram/light rail as their only method of travel on census day.
Public transport access
Stops, services, routes and how far you can get by public transport.
Newcastle has an extensive transit network, with 1,127 stops and 64 routes. It is among the highest in the region for access, with 6.78 stops and 1,930.2 weekly departures per 1,000 people, well above New South Wales figures.
1,127
Higher than 90% of federal electorate areas.
Scheduled public-transport stops (bus, train, tram and ferry) located in the area, from the state GTFS feeds.
6.78
Higher than 91% of federal electorate areas.
Public-transport stops per 1,000 residents — a measure of how densely an area is served (GTFS stops; population from the 2021 Census).
1,930.2
Higher than 84% of federal electorate areas.
Scheduled weekly public-transport departures from stops in the area, per 1,000 residents — how often transit actually runs, not just whether a stop exists (GTFS schedules for a representative week; population from the 2021 Census).
64
Higher than 61% of federal electorate areas.
Distinct public-transport routes serving stops in the area (GTFS feeds).
Getting around
Walking distance to transport and driving time to the city.
Getting to a nearby stop is very easy, with a typical walk time of just one minute, which is much lower than most areas. In contrast, the drive time to the city is among the highest at this level, averaging 97 minutes.
1
Lower than 93% of federal electorate areas.
Walking time, in minutes, from the centre of the area to the nearest public-transport stop, along the OpenStreetMap pedestrian network (Valhalla). Blank where no stop is within a reasonable walk.
97
Higher than 89% of federal electorate areas.
Free-flow driving time, in minutes, from the centre of the area to its state/territory capital city centre, along the OpenStreetMap road network (Valhalla). Excludes live traffic.
Sources
- Census of Population and Housing — Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021 (CC BY 4.0).
- Public transport timetables (GTFS) — State & territory transport agencies, 2026 (CC BY 4.0 (WA: custom PTA licence)).
- Road & path network (OpenStreetMap, via Valhalla) — OpenStreetMap contributors, 2026 (ODbL 1.0).
More for Newcastle
Cite this page
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Transport & Vehicles in Newcastle [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/ced/CED131/newcastle/topic/transport