Delayed Drives

Do you feel like you spend too much time behind the wheel? You’re not alone. In Australia’s 11 largest cities, full-time workers who drive collectively lose about 212 million hours a year to traffic, costing around $9.7 billion in lost time and an extra $462 million on fuel. Overall, commuting congestion costs exceed $10.1 billion annually. That’s a significant figure!  

With that in mind, the car insurance comparison experts at iSelect analysed ABS and Census data to uncover how many Aussies drive to work each week and how long their journeys take. Congestion data then helped us compare rush-hour travel times against optimal conditions to determine the time lost to traffic. We combined this with average hourly earnings and real-world fuel consumption data to reveal the true cost of congestion. 

We now know the total time and cost lost to commuting traffic, but also which of Australia’s major cities and occupations are losing the most time and money to congestion – and for some careers, the cost isn’t pretty.

The Aussie cities that spend the most time stuck in traffic 

When it comes to time lost sitting in traffic, Sydney takes the cake. Despite having the fifth-shortest average commute distance (20.6 km), Sydney’s full-time workers spend the most time stuck behind the wheel each year, with over four full working days lost to congestion. 

Sydneysiders work from home an average of 1.3 days a week, one of the highest of the cities analysed, yet that still hasn’t eased the gridlock. Daily round-trip commutes that should take around 1 hour and 5 minutes in optimal conditions stretch out to an average of 1 hour and 40 minutes during rush hour, leading to more than 34 minutes being lost to traffic per day, per road user. 

Melbourne follows closely behind, with drivers losing just a few hours less to commuting traffic over the year. On average, Melbourne commuters spend 33 minutes extra per day in traffic compared to free-flow conditions, equating to nearly four days lost annually. 

Further down the list, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth round out the top five, with each city’s drivers losing between two and a half to three days per year to congestion. Meanwhile, Darwin enjoys the smoothest drives, with less than a day and a half of total time lost annually. 

Across Australia’s major cities, the average driver loses around two and a half days each year sitting in traffic, time that could be better spent doing almost anything else! 

The city centres with the most congestion during rush hour   

When looking at traffic inside Australia’s city centres, Adelaide came out on top for the biggest slowdown during rush hour. During morning and evening peaks, Adelaide drivers crawl through the city at an average speed of around 21 to 22 kilometres per hour, turning what should be a 33-minute round trip into almost 56 minutes! This means that, compared to optimal traffic conditions, drivers in Adelaide lose around 22 minutes and 10 seconds each day on a standard 20-kilometre round trip. That’s slightly more than drivers in  Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.  

Melbourne ranked a close second, with drivers losing just under 22 minutes a day to congestion. Sydney followed in third, with an average daily delay of 19 minutes and 34 seconds, while Brisbane drivers lost around 18-and-a-half minutes. 

At the other end of the scale, Darwin and Wollongong enjoyed the easiest commutes in the city, with travel times that were less than eight minutes slower than in free-flow conditions.  

Across all major cities, the average driver spent about 15 minutes extra per day in traffic compared to optimal travel times.  

The metro areas with the most congestion during rush hour  

When looking beyond the city centre and into the greater metropolitan areas, Sydney reigns supreme for congestion. Across the city, Sydney’s average rush hour speed drops to just 27 kilometres per hour, turning what should be a 29-minute return trip into more than 44 minutes on the road. This means that, when compared to optimal traffic conditions, Sydney drivers lose around 15 minutes per day on a typical 20-kilometre round trip during rush hour. That’s a significant gap compared to other cities! Melbourne ranked second with an average of 12 minutes lost per day, meaning Sydney drivers experience around 25% more lost time on their commutes. 

Adelaide, Newcastle and the Gold Coast complete the top five, each seeing between 10 and 11 minutes of extra travel time per day due to congestion. Meanwhile, Darwin drivers have it easiest, losing under six minutes daily to traffic delays in the wider metro region. 

Across all metro areas, the average Australian driver spends nearly 10 minutes more each day in traffic compared to optimal conditions, indicating that congestion isn’t just a city-centre problem, but also spreading to the suburbs.

How much is congestion costing drivers in each Australian city? 

Traffic not only wastes time, but it also costs money. Sitting in congestion increases fuel consumption, costing drivers each commute. To calculate the cost, we considered both lost time and the additional fuel used when driving in slower, stop-start conditions. 

We used the median hourly income of full-time workers to estimate the opportunity cost of time lost. With work from home arrangements now available for many job roles, this time can be viewed as unpaid working hours that employees are completing by travelling to and from work. We then compared regular fuel consumption (7.9 litres per 100 km) with urban driving conditions under 60 km/h (8.9 litres per 100 km) to calculate the additional fuel cost. 

Our analysis found that Melbourne drivers face the highest overall costs, with the combination of high earnings, higher petrol prices and time spent in traffic pushing yearly expenses to $4,628. Sydney was close behind at $4,567 per year. When we separate the two components, Melbourne also leads in the opportunity cost of time at $4,457 per year, followed by Sydney at $4,406. Extra fuel costs are highest in Wollongong at $240 per year, followed by Perth at $204 and the Gold Coast at $199 per year.  

Other major cities see lower but still significant costs. Perth and Brisbane drivers lose more than $3,400 per year when combining fuel and lost time, while drivers in Darwin experience the lowest congestion costs at around $1,390 annually. Across Australian cities, the average driver spends approximately $2,788 per year due to congestion, illustrating the significant impact of traffic on both their wallet and time. 

Which occupations spend the most time in traffic?

Traffic does not impact all workers equally. Looking at the top 10 occupations by yearly time lost, stationary plant operators are the hardest hit. With almost no opportunity to work from home and long travel distances, they lose nearly four and a half days a year to traffic. 

Other occupations heavily affected include prison and security officers, truck drivers, defence force members, fire fighters, and police, as well as medical practitioners, all of whom lose more than four days per year on average. Trades and health roles such as mechanical engineering trades workers and health diagnostic and promotion professionals also experience significant yearly time lost due to traffic. 

Across these occupations, congestion adds up to a substantial cost in both time and opportunity, indicating that certain workers are particularly vulnerable to the daily grind of rush-hour traffic. 

The occupations most financially impacted by commuting traffic  

When it comes to cost, medical practitioners are at the top of the list. With more than four extra days spent in traffic each year and a high hourly wage of $65.60, the combined cost of lost time and extra fuel reaches $6,784.10 annually. 

Other high-cost occupations include air and marine transport professionals, who spend more than three days per year in traffic, translating to a combined cost of $5,436.06, as well as health diagnostic and promotion professionals, at $5,418.01. 

Stationary plant operators also experience significant costs. Despite a lower hourly rate of $42.27, long travel distances and almost no work from home opportunities result in an extra $4,891.81 combined time and fuel costs per year. 

Occupations such as ICT managers, advertising and public relations managers, defence force members, fire fighters and police also see yearly costs close to $5,000 due to the time lost in traffic and the extra fuel consumed during commutes. 

Across these top 10 occupations, the combination of traffic delays, distance travelled, and hourly earnings shows that congestion can be a substantial hidden cost, particularly for high-income roles with longer commutes.