38.0% ▲ +869.6%
Higher than 99% of federal electorate areas.
- 2011: 3.9%
- 2016: 3.7%
- 2021: 38.0%
Share of occupied private dwellings with no registered motor vehicle.
Melbourne · Federal Electorate
Transport & Vehicles in Melbourne
How households get around — the vehicles they keep and the journey to work.
Far more people live without a car in Melbourne than in most other areas, with 38% of homes owning no motor vehicle. This reflects a city where public transport and working from home are common alternatives to driving. The area has seen a massive shift away from car reliance, with the number of car-free homes jumping 34 percentage points since 2011.
Vehicles
Motor vehicles per home, and homes with no car.
Nearly 4 in 10 homes have no motor vehicle, a figure far above the Victorian average of 7.6%. Among those who do own a car, 45.3% have just one vehicle, while only 13.6% have two.
Motor vehicles per home
View on map →In Melbourne, the largest group is 1 vehicle at 45%, followed by No vehicle (38%) and 2 vehicles (14%).
Getting to work
How people travel to work.
Working from home is very common here at 41.7%, which is far above the national figure of 21%. This trend has jumped 36 percentage points since 2016, while 10.6% of the workforce use public transport, well above the national average.
41.7% —
Higher than 91% of federal electorate areas.
- 2016: 5.6%
- 2021: 41.7%
Share of employed people aged 15+ who worked at home on census day.
10.6% —
Higher than 99% of federal electorate areas.
- 2016: 8.2%
- 2021: 10.6%
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.
Melbourne has some of the highest service levels in the region, with 4,011.7 weekly departures per 1,000 people, far above the Victorian figure. Trams and light rail are the primary modes, making up 61.7% of the network.
771
Lower than 53% of federal electorate areas.
Scheduled public-transport stops (bus, train, tram and ferry) located in the area, from the state GTFS feeds.
3.86
Lower than 73% 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).
4,011.7
Higher than 99% 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).
138
Higher than 89% 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 around is fast and convenient, with a typical 7-minute drive to the city. Residents also live very close to transit, with a typical 2-minute walk to the nearest stop, which is much lower than most areas.
2
Lower than 86% 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.
7
Lower than 99% 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 Melbourne
Cite this page
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Transport & Vehicles in Melbourne [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/ced/CED233/melbourne/topic/transport