Those least likely to use public transport shouldering the cost Where people travel to work (darker green denotes a higher percentage). People who can least afford it cover the bulk of the cost for a public transport system they hardly use, new analysis of census commuter data reveals. According to figures from Urban Economics, public transport use drops off dramatically the further people live from the centre of Brisbane. The people who are paying the bulk of that subsidy are arguably the people who are more likely to be driving to work But the finding follows a report that shows Brisbane's highest-paying jobs are concentrated in the CBD, even though most of Brisbane's employment opportunities exist in the suburbs. Public transport mode shares of journeys to work (Census 2011) It means people who use public transport the most are also more likely to earn more money, and people who use it the least are likely to earn less, according to urban planning analyst Ross Elliot. And with a network that is designed around city to suburbs commutes - rather than intra-suburb travel - and charges people who live in the outer-rings more to travel into town, Mr Elliott said there was no easy fix. And the issue is likely to be exacerbated by a 7.5 per cent fare hike expected in Tuesday's state budget which would lift the price of a return journey from Inala - where the median weekly household income is $727 - to the city from $10.26 a day to $12.56. Mr Elliot said there was a need to stop focusing transport spending in the heart of the city. "This is a public transport system that is heavily subsidised, and the people who are paying the bulk of that subsidy are arguably the people who are more likely to be driving to work," he said. However their petrol isn't subsidised, their car isn't subsidised, they are likely to be paying for parking, and they're probably earning lower incomes than those people who are using public transport the most. We've got to ask - who is benefiting from the spending? The analysis comes as Brisbane City Council prepares to hand over its review of the city's bus network operations to the state government, and funding squabbles over billion-dollar transport infrastructure such as Cross River Rail continue.