46.1% ▲ +11.9%
Higher than 99% of council (lga) areas.
- 2011: 41.2%
- 2016: 48.2%
- 2021: 46.1%
Share of occupied private dwellings with no registered motor vehicle.
Melbourne · Council (LGA)
Transport & Vehicles in Melbourne
How households get around — the vehicles they keep and the journey to work.
A massive shift in how people travel has hit Melbourne, where working from home jumped from 3.9% in 2011 to 38.6% in 2021. This change is mirrored in the way people live, with nearly half of all homes now having no motor vehicle. It is a city designed for accessibility, with a huge number of public transport trips and very short trips to the city centre.
Vehicles
Motor vehicles per home, and homes with no car.
Almost half of all Melbourne homes (46.1%) do not have a motor vehicle, a figure far above the national average of 7.4%. This car-free lifestyle has grown over time, rising by 4.9 percentage points since 2011.
Motor vehicles per home
View on map →Melbourne splits fairly evenly between No vehicle (46%) and 1 vehicle (42%), with 2 vehicles at 10%.
Getting to work
How people travel to work.
Working from home is far more common here than in the rest of Australia, with 38.6% of workers staying home. While 13.1% of people use public transport to get to work—well above the national figure—this has actually fallen by 8.3 percentage points since 2011.
38.6% ▲ +892.6%
Higher than 95% of council (lga) areas.
- 2011: 3.9%
- 2016: 4.1%
- 2021: 38.6%
Share of employed people aged 15+ who worked at home on census day.
13.1% ▼ -38.6%
Higher than 99% of council (lga) areas.
- 2011: 21.4%
- 2016: 26.7%
- 2021: 13.1%
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.
The area has 138 public transport routes and 599 stops, making it larger than about 88% of similar areas. This is reflected in the number of weekly departures per 1,000 people, which is far above the Victorian figure.
599
Higher than 86% of council (lga) areas.
Scheduled public-transport stops (bus, train, tram and ferry) located in the area, from the state GTFS feeds.
4.00
Higher than 59% of council (lga) areas.
Public-transport stops per 1,000 residents — a measure of how densely an area is served (GTFS stops; population from the 2021 Census).
4,583.8
Higher than 99% of council (lga) 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 council (lga) 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 quick and easy, with a typical three-minute walk to the nearest stop. The drive time to the city is also among the lowest for its level, taking only three minutes.
3
Lower than 79% of council (lga) 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.
3
Lower than 99% of council (lga) 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/lga/LGA24600/melbourne/topic/transport