8.1% ▲ +17.5%
Higher than 74% of federal electorate areas.
- 2011: 6.9%
- 2016: 5.5%
- 2021: 8.1%
Share of occupied private dwellings with no registered motor vehicle.
Canberra · Federal Electorate
Transport & Vehicles in Canberra
How households get around — the vehicles they keep and the journey to work.
Much higher rates of public transport use and access set Canberra apart from most similar areas. While 49.1% of workers still drive to work, the city offers a high density of transit options. This is balanced by a trend toward more flexible work, with the number of people working from home rising 9.6 percentage points since 2016.
Vehicles
Motor vehicles per home, and homes with no car.
About 8.1% of Canberra homes have no motor vehicle, which is a little above the Territory figure of 5.6%. This is a small increase from 6.9% in 2011, and nearly half of all households now rely on a single vehicle.
Motor vehicles per home
View on map →In Canberra, the largest group is 1 vehicle at 46%, followed by 2 vehicles (34%) and 3 vehicles (9%).
Getting to work
How people travel to work.
Public transport use for work is a little above the national figure at 5.8%, though this fell from 7.0% in 2016. Meanwhile, 12.3% of people work from home, which is a little above the Territory average but well below the national figure of 21.0%.
12.3% —
Lower than 62% of federal electorate areas.
- 2016: 2.8%
- 2021: 12.3%
Share of employed people aged 15+ who worked at home on census day.
5.8% —
Higher than 86% of federal electorate areas.
- 2016: 7.0%
- 2021: 5.8%
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.
Canberra provides excellent access with 6.23 stops per 1,000 people and 1,734.7 weekly departures, both a little above the Territory average. The system is dominated by buses, which make up 94.7% of the modes used.
906
Higher than 72% of federal electorate areas.
Scheduled public-transport stops (bus, train, tram and ferry) located in the area, from the state GTFS feeds.
6.23
Higher than 87% 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).
1,734.7
Higher than 78% 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).
72
Higher than 71% 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.
Reaching the city takes typically longer here than in most areas, with a 35-minute drive time. Similarly, it takes much longer than in most areas to reach the nearest stop, with a typical walk of 20 minutes.
20
Higher than 74% 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.
35
Higher than 60% 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 Canberra
Cite this page
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Transport & Vehicles in Canberra [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/ced/CED802/canberra/topic/transport