Rail travel recognised as most sustainable transport mode

identified as promoting greater use of rail closely align with the industry’s own areas of focus at the moment.

The research also confirmed public transport users recognise the affordability and sustainability benefits rail delivers.

How Our Use Of Rail Has Changed

The research confirmed that changing work patterns are here to stay, with one third (33 per cent) of respondents working from home compared to 17 per cent before the pandemic.

Further to this, 67 per cent of people expect their work patterns to stay the same in the near future.

As you know, supporting a return to rail has been a key priority of the Australasian Railway Association (ARA) over the last year.

We have seen many people return to public transport, which is a wonderful indication of increased activity in our cities and towns as we navigate a new-normal after COVID.

But the fact remains that passenger numbers are still below pre-pandemic levels.

We know that passenger operators across our region are working extensively to ensure customers have a great experience when they return to the network, whether for work, school or getting out and about in their daily lives.

To help better understand how these efforts are contributing to greater use of rail in our communities, the ARA commissioned Zing Insights to complete consumer research to assess how our use of rail transport has changed compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic, and to identify the factors that would support greater use of rail in the future.

The research surveyed 2500 residents across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth who lived within five kilometres of a rail station or light rail stop in November 2022 as part of the project.

Pleasingly, one in four people surveyed expect to increase their use of rail over the summer, and many of the key drivers that were

It also revealed our use of rail has changed, with 24 per cent of people stating they are using rail less compared to before the pandemic. However, fewer people say they never use rail compared to 2019.

People are driving, walking or cycling on a regular basis more, and using public transport less, compared to before the pandemic.

Drivers To Support Greater Use Of Rail

Of the 25 per cent of people that stated they were likely to use rail more often over the next six months, their most common reason so was a desire to get out more and enjoy their lives (27 per cent).

So that is great news as our way of life continues to open up over the summer months.

When we looked at location and age, more Sydney residents and people under 35 years of age were planning to use rail more often.

The rising cost of living is also expected to be a factor, with increasing petrol prices (39 per cent), traffic congestion (31 per cent) and parking fees (25 per cent) expected to drive greater use of rail.

This supports the case that rail offers a great alternative to ease household budget pressures and to escape growing congestion on our roads.

It also supports recognition of the ease of using rail to travel to and from major events with 29 per cent of people stating they would use rail to access more events outside their local area.

Priorities For Rail Travel

The survey confirmed reliability, safety and security, and convenience matter most when people are travelling by rail and were key factors that would encourage greater use of rail.

This supports the fact that passengers want frequent, convenient and reliable services to make their journey as seamless as possible.

Industry has invested significantly in providing a great customer experience throughout the pandemic and with a focus on these issues expect those returning to rail will enjoy the benefits of this ongoing focus.

Increasing the frequency of services was also identified as an opportunity to grow patronage with almost half (43 per cent) of people citing this as a key initiative that would increase their use of rail.

Further to this, other suggestions provided by survey participants to improve use of rail included increasing the number of services; expanding the network; and providing better connections to other modes.

Major rail projects currently underway across Australia, such as Sydney Metro, the Metro Tunnel, Cross River Rail and the METRONET program will transform our rail networks, enabling rail to reach more people and hence provide more services, more often.

So the work underway in our industry right now will undoubtedly support a greater mode shift in the future.

The survey also confirmed that concerns about crowding (at 30 per cent) and COVID risks (at 29 per cent) remain, with just under a third of people citing these as specific concerns.

To this end, the increased cleaning and hygiene measures introduced during the pandemic were endorsed by respondents, with 30 per cent advising this would encourage them to use rail more often.

Rail Will Be Key To Our Sustainable Future

Increasing our public transport use will be key to meeting Australia’s net-zero targets and is an easy way we can make a meaningful difference in our daily lives.

And the research shows this is well recognised by the community.

Two thirds (66 per cent) of respondents viewed rail as the most environmentally sustainable transport mode and just under two thirds (65 per cent) were considering greater use of public transport to reduce their carbon footprint.

However, only about a third of people (32 per cent) expected to make these changes in the next 12 months, so we need to continue to promote the sustainable benefits of rail to help people make the shift to public transport over time.

These are all invaluable insights to support the further development of the ARA’s return to rail initiatives, led by industry.

The ARA team and I will be working closely with operators to progress these insights to continue to support our members and industry in the new year.