Melbourne’s Northern Commute The Slowest In Town

A new study by RACV subsidiary Intelematics has found that motorists commuting from Melbourne's Northern and Southern suburbs have it the worst. 

Based on millions of GPS-measured trips, the survey showed that commuters driving from Thomastown into the CBD in peak hour average speeds of 24km/h for the 17 kilometre journey.

The Thomastown-to-Melbourne trip is closely (and slowly) followed by those travelling from Box Hill, where traffic into the city averages speeds of 28km/h. Mentone (31km/h), Melbourne Airport, (36km/h), and Laverton (38km/h) round out the top five slowest commutes.

Frankstonites get the award for the longest peak-hour trips however, averaging 62 minutes from the centre of Frankston to the Melbourne CBD. But at 54km/h, those coming from Frankston also have the best average peak-hour speeds.

The two year-long survey showed that Tuesdays mark the slowest journeys into the Melbourne CBD, with the slowest journey home typically being Fridays. 

The weekend proved to be almost as bad as weekdays, but with the busiest times being between 10am and 1pm.

In Sydney, the longest trip proved to be the hike from Manly to the CBD, averaging 50 minutes for most motorists - at a speed of just 18km/h, the slowest commute in the country. 

Leaving Dee Why on a city-bound road in the morning of a weekday is almost as bad, with speeds averaging just 21km/h. The people of Parramatta are no better off, with their CBD hike moving at an average 25km/h.

Brisbane workers from Nudgee take around 44 minutes to hit the CBD in peak times, with speeds struggling to top 23km/h. The Gold Coast commute isn't much better, with speeds averaging 47km/h into the city.

The slowest commute into Adelaide is for those from Port Adelaide, with a peak trip taking around 33 minutes at an average of 24km/h. The folks from Perth have it best, with Fremantlers getting the slowest trip into the CBD at an average 45km/h.

Photo by Reinis Traidas.