Up until the early 1960s, railways dominated all but the shortest land-based freight task. Since then, vast improvements in road vehicle productivity and road infrastructure quality, the gradual removal of regulations restricting road freight carriage and the exponential growth in interstate trade has broadened the range of freight tasks for which road is better suited than rail.

• Road and rail freight: competitors or complements?
  
  is_034.pdf
  (1003.02 KB)

BITRE has examined trends in the fuel consumption of new passenger vehicles sold in Australia. Up to 2001, technological advances in engine technology, which improved fuel efficiency, were offset by increases in power, weight and the popularity of 4WD vehicles. Since 2001 the overall trend in fuel consumption has continued to decrease with average new light vehicle fuel consumption down 8.4 per cent to 8.14 litres per 100 kilometres (L/100 km).

• Fuel Consumption by New Passenger Vehicles in Australia 1979-2008
  
  is_030.pdf
  (489.44 KB)

This information sheet compiles data on urban public bus services by government and outsourced private sector providers in Australia's capital cities. Statistics examined include: total passenger boardings; passenger kilometres; in-service bus kilometres; boardings per service kilometre; bus services by capital city; and an overview of Australia's current bus systems.

• Urban Public Transport: Recent Bus Transport Statistics
  
  is_033.pdf
  (437.96 KB)

This information sheet contains a historical overview of road death statistics in Australian from 1925, when road deaths were first recorded, to 2008.

• Road Deaths in Australia 1925–2008
  
  is_038.pdf
  (646.08 KB)

An earlier paper (Gargett et al 2009) showed, by very preliminary analysis of the Victorian road fatality rate, that a combination of increased seat belt wearing, random breath testing (RBT) and speed cameras explained almost all of the reduction in the Victorian road fatality rate since the late 1960s. The current analysis 1) extends the analysis to all states, 2) uses new estimates of vehicle kilometres travelled to derive an "exposure to death" variable and 3) includes actual measurements of state rates of seat belt wearing, as well as RBT and speed camera enforcement back to the inception of the programs in each state. The results of the analysis confirm the findings of the earlier paper seat belt wearing, RBT and speed cameras can explain almost all of the variation in fatality rates in all states since the late 1960s.

• Effectiveness of Measures to Reduce Road Fatality Rates
  
  is_039.pdf
  (1.92 MB)

This information sheet aims to provide some statistical snapshots of the characteristics of fatal road crashes in Australia in the last two decades, 1990 to 2009, and complements the road safety statistical summary produced by BITRE each year which presents other key time series. It includes some insights into the types of crashes prevalent during this period, the major factors and the road user groups most frequently involved.

• Fatal Road Crashes in Australia in the 1990s and 2000s: Crash Types and Major Factors
  
  is_041.pdf
  (1.97 MB)

This publication provides the 2011 update of BITRE's Road Construction and Maintenance Price Index.

• BITRE Road Construction and Maintenance Price Index–2011 update
  
  is_042.pdf
  (1.81 MB)

This Information Paper details government funding of road related expenditure, by State and Commonwealth governments, as well as motor vehicle revenue for the period 1995 to 1996.

• Public Road-Related Expenditure and Revenue in Australia
  
  is_009.pdf
  (68.1 KB)

The total amount of road-related expenditure by the Commonwealth, state, territory and local governments in 1996–97 was $6.2 billion. Revenue collected by the Commonwealth, state and territory governments from a selection of motor vehicle taxes and charges in 1996–97 was $13.9 billion.

• Public Road-Related Expenditure and Revenue in Australia 1998
  
  is_011.pdf
  (199.35 KB)

The total amount of road-related expenditure by the Australian, State, Territory and Local Governments in 2001–02 was $7.6 billion. Between 1998–99 and 2001–02 road-related expenditure increased by an average of $99.4 million per year. Over this period Commonwealth and State government road-related expenditure increased while Local government road-related expenditure decreased.

• Public Road-Related Expenditure and Revenue in Australia (2004 update)
  
  is_023.pdf
  (299.58 KB)