5.6% ▼ -15.7%
Higher than 52% of region (sa4) areas.
- 2011: 6.7%
- 2016: 6.0%
- 2021: 5.6%
Share of occupied private dwellings with no registered motor vehicle.
Townsville · Region (SA4)
Transport & Vehicles in Townsville
How households get around — the vehicles they keep and the journey to work.
Very few people use public transport in Townsville compared to other similar areas. Most residents rely on private cars for daily travel, with only 1.1% of workers commuting by public transit and a very low number of people working from home. This heavy dependence on vehicles is mirrored by the city's limited public transport options.
Vehicles
Motor vehicles per home, and homes with no car.
Most homes in Townsville have at least one car, and 39.4% of households own two vehicles. Only 5.6% of homes have no motor vehicle, which is about the same as the Queensland figure and slightly lower than the national rate.
Motor vehicles per home
View on map →Townsville splits fairly evenly between 2 vehicles (39%) and 1 vehicle (35%), with 3 vehicles at 13%.
Getting to work
How people travel to work.
Driving is the primary way to get to work, with 69.6% of people as the main driver. Only 5.6% of people work from home, which is far below the national figure of 21% and among the lowest for areas of this size.
5.6% ▲ +65.8%
Lower than 90% of region (sa4) areas.
- 2011: 3.4%
- 2016: 3.5%
- 2021: 5.6%
Share of employed people aged 15+ who worked at home on census day.
1.1% ▼ -36.1%
Lower than 69% of region (sa4) areas.
- 2011: 1.7%
- 2016: 1.3%
- 2021: 1.1%
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.
Public transport is limited to buses, with 16 routes and 636 stops. The number of weekly departures per 1,000 people is 487.9, which is well below the Queensland figure of 720.7.
636
Lower than 74% of region (sa4) areas.
Scheduled public-transport stops (bus, train, tram and ferry) located in the area, from the state GTFS feeds.
2.71
Lower than 86% of region (sa4) areas.
Public-transport stops per 1,000 residents — a measure of how densely an area is served (GTFS stops; population from the 2021 Census).
487.9
Lower than 62% of region (sa4) 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).
16
Lower than 90% of region (sa4) areas.
Distinct public-transport routes serving stops in the area (GTFS feeds).
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)).
More for Townsville
Cite this page
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Transport & Vehicles in Townsville [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/sa4/318/townsville/topic/transport