Car Commuters Likely To Earn Less, Says Report A report has found car commuters are likely to earn less than those who travel via public transport. Photo: Michelle Smith The federal government's latest State of Australian Cities report underscores the geographical difference between the rich and poor in Brisbane, based on transport use. While most people prefer private vehicles to travel to work, the likelihood of doing that depends on where you live. Cars account for 46 per cent of trips to work by residents of inner suburbs compared with 83 per cent from homes in the outer suburbs. But the profile also says people using cars to get to work are likely to be earning less, and are more likely to miss out on the associated health benefits of public or active transport. "Average incomes for users of mass transit are about 10 per cent higher than those who travel by private vehicle," it said."In Brisbane, 54 per cent of mass transit users earn more than $52,000 per year, and almost 20 per cent of mass transit users in Brisbane earn more than $104,000 per year." And while various factors contribute to the disparity, a comparison of costs associated with transport modes shows travelling by car to be more expensive.For example, households in the Inala and Richlands statistical area - where the unemployment rate has averaged 17 per cent for six years - had a medium income of $762 a week at the last census. The census also showed about 60 per cent of employed people living in the area drove their car to work, with only a fraction (3.1 per cent) using a bus or a train (3 per cent). But if a person living in that area was a regular train commuter to the city, where employment density is highest, and they used an adult Go Card to travel, each trip would be $5.84. Providing they took advantage of the free travel offered after nine trips, their average expenditure on train trips to and from work each week would be $52.56. The cost of the same journey by car could be quite different. The road distance from Inala train station to Central is 21.5 kilometres. The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries says small passenger vehicles are the most commonly sold car in Australia, and the RACQ nominates the Hyundai i30 Active as the best small car under $35,000. According to the RACQ, that car costs 59.90¢ a kilometre to run, inclusive of fuel, tyres, services and repairs. That makes the cost of the return 21.5 kilometre weekday commute $128.78, more than double the cost of public transport. And there were further costs with a car over other transport modes, according to the report. "Active travel can improve liveability in cities by increasing health and wellbeing and reducing traffic congestion," it said."Active travel for commutes to work is increasing in Brisbane's inner suburbs and decreasing in Brisbane's outer suburbs." The report says 20.7 per cent of people living in inner Brisbane walk to work, a rise of 6.8 per cent since 2001, compared with only 1.9 per cent of those in the outer suburbs, a fall of 0.1 per cent. Meanwhile, 3.8 per cent of people in the inner suburbs cycled to work, an increase of 0.9 per cent since 2001, compared with just 0.5 per cent in the outer suburbs, a decrease of 0.1 per cent.