Transport costs rise nearly $2,000 in 12 months, new research finds

Yearly household transport costs rose a shocking $1,870 between 2020 and 2021, a new report from the Australian Automobile Association (AAA) shows.

This means that households are now paying around an extra $35 each week on travel, compared to the same time last year.

Transport price increases in 2021

Commuters are being hit the hardest in car finance payments, insurance costs, fuel and in some places, road tolls.

In both capital cities and regional centres, insurance costs rose by around $100 in 12 months.* Fuel prices also rose after a dip in 2020, and in Sydney, commuters spent $85 more on road tolls than the year before.

Car finance saw one of the biggest hikes in transport-related costs. Average yearly car loan payments rose from over $6,000 at the beginning of 2020 to more than $8,000 in 2021, according to the AAA’s research.

That last figure could be due to more demand for used vehicles in 2020, which in turn has led to an increase in prices. 

To explain this a bit more, data gathered in March this year by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that public transport use is still less than it was pre-pandemic times (14% compared to 23%). So it would seem that more Australians are opting for private cars, to avoid public spaces. 

As a result of this, the wholesale price of used-vehicles had risen 37% since February 2020, Moody’s Analytics reported in April.

Reducing car costs

If you have invested your money in a set of private wheels, you might now have a few more expenses to deal with than you did before. With fuel, registration and servicing costs, owning a car certainly doesn’t come cheap.

One way you might be able to lower your costs is to shop around for a more competitively priced car insurance deal. 

Mozo research from 2020 showed that the average annual car insurance premium quote in Australia was around $952. Of course, quotes will vary depending on where you live and a whole bunch of other factors. However, if you are paying a lot more than that figure, then it might be worth seeing what other insurance plans are out there. Head to Mozo’s compare car insurance page to do just that, or check out the offers below.

*According to the AAA’s Transport Affordability report, insurance costs rose on average $100 in regional centres and $96 in capital cities.