Editing Transport in Australia (section)

== Road transport ==
{{main|Road transport in Australia}}
[[File:Eastern Freeway Belford St.jpg|thumb|[[Eastern Freeway, Melbourne]]]]
Road transport is an essential element of the Australian transport network, and an enabler of the [[Economy of Australia|Australian economy]]. There is a heavy reliance on road transport due to Australia's large area and low [[population density]] in considerable parts of the country.<ref name="transtats">{{cite web|url=http://www.iraptranstats.net/aus|title=Transport in Australia|access-date=17 February 2009|work=International Transport Statistics Database|publisher=[[International Road Assessment Programme]] }}</ref> This is similar to the US. Australia's road network experiences excessive demand during peak periods and very weak demand overnight.<ref name="urp">{{cite book |last=Lyon |first=Brendan |title=Road Pricing and Provision: Changed Traffic Conditions Ahead |chapter=Using Road Pricing as a Viable Option to Meet Australia’s Future Road Funding Needs |year=2018 |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv5cg9mn.15 |publisher=[[ANU Press]]|page=109 |jstor=j.ctv5cg9mn.15 |isbn=978-1-76046-231-4}}</ref>

Another reason for the reliance upon roads is that the [[Rail transport in Australia|Australian rail network]] has not been sufficiently developed for a lot of the freight and passenger requirements in most areas of Australia. This has meant that [[Good (economics)|goods]] that would otherwise be transported by rail are moved across Australia via [[road train]]s. Almost every household owns at least one [[car]], and uses it most days.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.aaa.asn.au/issues/future.htm
| title = Where are we now?
| access-date = 3 February 2007
| publisher = [[Australian Automobile Association]]
}}</ref>

There are three different categories of Australian roads. They are federal highways, state highways and local roads. The road network comprises a total of 913,000&nbsp;km broken down into:<ref>CIA world fact book.</ref>
*paved: 353,331&nbsp;km (including 3,132&nbsp;km of expressways)
*unpaved: 559,669&nbsp;km (1996 estimate)

[[Victoria, Australia|Victoria]] has the largest network, with thousands of arterial (major, primary and secondary) roads to add.

The majority of road tunnels in Australia have been constructed since the 1990s to relieve traffic congestion in metropolitan areas, or to cross significant watercourses.

=== Cars ===
Australia has the thirteenth-highest level of [[List of countries by vehicles per capita|car ownership]] in the world. It has three to four times more road per capita than Europe and seven to nine times more than Asia. Australia also has the third-highest per capita rate of fuel consumption in the world. [[Melbourne]] is the most car-dependent city in Australia, according to a data survey in the 2010s, having over 110,000 more cars driving to and from the city each day than [[Sydney]]. [[Perth]], [[Adelaide]] and [[Brisbane]] are rated as being close behind. All these capital cities are rated among the highest in this category in the world ([[Automobile dependency|car dependency]]).<ref>[http://www.eoc.csiro.au/lb/lbbook/urban/yb2.htm Urban Australia: Where most of us live]. CSIRO. Retrieved 15 July 2012.</ref> The distance travelled by car (or similar vehicle) in Australia is among the highest in the world.<ref name="transtats" />

=== Electric vehicles ===
{{main|Plug-in electric vehicles in Australia}}
The adoption of [[plug-in electric vehicle]]s in Australia is driven mostly by state-based [[electric vehicle]] targets and monetary incentives to support the adoption and deployment of low- or [[zero-emission vehicle]]s. The monetary incentives include electric vehicle subsidies, interest-free loans, registration exemptions, [[stamp duty]] exemptions, the [[luxury car tax]] exemption and discounted parking for both private and commercial purchases. The [[Government of Victoria|Victoria]]n and [[Government of New South Wales|New South Wales]] governments target between 50% and 53% of new car sales to be electric vehicles by 2030.<ref name=":136">{{Cite web |last=Parkinson |first=Giles |date=2021-05-01 |title=Victoria to offer $3,000 subsidy for electric vehicles, sets 50pct target by 2030 |url=https://thedriven.io/2021/05/01/victoria-to-offer-3000-subsidy-for-electric-vehicles-sets-50pct-target-by-2030/|access-date=2021-05-01 |website=The Driven}}</ref><ref name=":204">{{Cite web |last=Mazengarb |first=Michael |date=2021-06-19 |title=NSW unveils $490 million support package for electric vehicles, but there's a catch |url=https://thedriven.io/2021/06/20/nsw-unveils-490-million-support-package-for-electric-vehicles-but-theres-a-catch/ |access-date=2021-06-22 |website=The Driven |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Harris |first=Rob |date=2021-08-22|title=Australia on verge of electric cars boom |url=https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/australia-on-verge-of-electric-cars-boom-amid-sharp-jump-in-sales-figures-20210820-p58kn5.html |access-date=2021-08-23 |website=[[The Age]]|language=en}}</ref>