8.1% ▼ -30.7%
Higher than 76% of sub-region (sa3) areas.
- 2011: 11.7%
- 2016: 9.4%
- 2021: 8.1%
Share of occupied private dwellings with no registered motor vehicle.
Newcastle · Sub-region (SA3)
Transport & Vehicles in Newcastle
How households get around — the vehicles they keep and the journey to work.
Over half of workers in Newcastle rely on a car to get to work, though the city has a very high level of public transport infrastructure. While most homes have one or two cars, the city has seen a huge jump in people working from home since 2011. This mix of high car use and extensive transit options defines how people move around the region.
Vehicles
Motor vehicles per home, and homes with no car.
About 8.1% of homes in Newcastle have no motor vehicle, which is much higher than most areas. This figure has fallen since 2011, and today the most common setup is one or two vehicles per household.
Motor vehicles per home
View on map →Newcastle splits fairly evenly between 1 vehicle (39%) and 2 vehicles (37%), with 3 vehicles at 11%.
Getting to work
How people travel to work.
Working from home has surged to 23.3% since 2011, which is a little above the national figure. Meanwhile, only 1.2% of people use public transport to get to work, a figure that is lower than most areas and has fallen over the last decade.
23.3% ▲ +727.8%
Higher than 75% of sub-region (sa3) areas.
- 2011: 2.8%
- 2016: 3.5%
- 2021: 23.3%
Share of employed people aged 15+ who worked at home on census day.
1.2% ▼ -59.1%
Lower than 62% of sub-region (sa3) areas.
- 2011: 3.0%
- 2016: 2.9%
- 2021: 1.2%
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 a huge amount of transport infrastructure, with 1,216 stops and 67 routes. The number of stops and weekly departures per 1,000 people are both well above the New South Wales average, with buses making up 95.4% of the network.
1,216
Higher than 95% of sub-region (sa3) areas.
Scheduled public-transport stops (bus, train, tram and ferry) located in the area, from the state GTFS feeds.
6.79
Higher than 87% of sub-region (sa3) areas.
Public-transport stops per 1,000 residents — a measure of how densely an area is served (GTFS stops; population from the 2021 Census).
1,871.6
Higher than 83% of sub-region (sa3) 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).
67
Higher than 86% of sub-region (sa3) areas.
Distinct public-transport routes serving stops in the area (GTFS feeds).
Getting around
Walking distance to transport and driving time to the city.
It takes typically 98 minutes to drive to the city, which is much higher than most areas. Additionally, the typical 7-minute walk to the nearest transport stop is higher than in most other areas.
7
Higher than 59% of sub-region (sa3) 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.
98
Higher than 85% of sub-region (sa3) 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/sa3/11103/newcastle/topic/transport