Road transport in Australia

[2] Another reason for the reliance upon roads is that the Australian rail network has not been sufficiently developed for a lot of the freight and passenger requirements in most areas of Australia.

Funding and responsibility for Australia's road network is split between the three levels of government; Federal, State and Local.

The popular phrase 'the tyranny of distance', also the title of a famous historical work,[4] captures the central role of transport in Australian policy, producing many conflicts.

It was not until the Bland enquiry in Victoria[5] that there was an attempt to outline the complex questions in economic theory and practice of determining and measuring road costs and their allocation.

[6][7] This system was subsequently applied more widely,[8] and then extended, with later studies, for the establishment of current national policy and principles.

Some toll roads are called motorways or tollways to avoid perceived difficulties with charging people to use a freeway.

The national highway network is partly financed by the Australian Federal Government, but the bulk of funding comes from the individual states.

Some highways in remote areas of Australia are not sealed for high traffic volumes and are not suitable for the whole range of weather conditions.

Local governments maintain the vast majority of minor roads in rural areas and streets in towns and suburbs.

Urban minor roads in Australia are generally sealed, have a 50 km/h speed limit and most are illuminated at night by street lighting.

[17] Many rural roads are not sealed but are built with a gravel base or simply graded clear and maintained from the available earth.

It would require re-examination of the central issue of freedom of interstate transport as embodied in Section 92 of the Constitution of Australia, and the development of appropriate national responses.

This resulted in long running development of new governance arrangements and policy for economic regulation of both road and rail freight transport.

The laws for all levels of government, have been mostly harmonised so that drivers do not need to learn different rules as they cross state borders.

The minimum age to get this in most states is 16, and it requires: After a set period of time (usually between three and twelve months), and often a certain number of hours practice, the learner driver is eligible to apply for their licence.

In the remote areas of the north and west, [clarification needed] three- and four-trailer road trains are used for general freight, fuel, livestock and mineral ores.

Two-trailer road trains are allowed closer to populated areas, especially for bulk grain and general freight.

[citation needed] From July 2007, the Federal and State governments approved B-triple trucks that are allowed only to operate on a designated network of roads .

[citation needed] The largest road transport companies are Linfox and Toll, but there are many others, including owner-drivers with only their own truck.

[citation needed] Buses in Australia provide a variety of services, generally in one or more of the following categories: Many aspects of the bus industry are heavily controlled by government.

These controls may include age and condition of the bus, driver licensing and working hours, fare structure, routes and frequency of services.

The Melbourne tram system is the largest in the world and remains an integral part of inner city commuting.

Considerable numbers of tourists and enthusiasts use road and off-road routes that have been marked or signed for bicycle tours.

[48][49][50] The New South Wales Government also aim for the vast majority of new cars sold in the state to be electric vehicles by 2035.

[58][48][49][54] However, this target could be reached sooner if the two largest states governments of New South Wales and Victoria enact their plan to ban the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2035.

[60] While a slow uptake of electric vehicles would result in a 1 trillion cost to the Australian health system by 2050.

[61] Although air pollution would cause the deaths of at least 2500 people across Sydney and Melbourne in the year 2030, even if the federal government swiftly clamped down on poisonous car fuels.

Seat belt usage is very high and Australia was the first country to make seatbelt use compulsory by law in 1970.

Speed limits have been progressively reduced in urban streets, from 60 km/h to 50 km/h and more recently, to 40 km/h near schools, in built up areas and shopping strips.

Australian Standards AS 1742.5 - 1986 and AS 4212 - 1994 provide a list of road suffixes (such as Alley, Circle, Mall, Street) which are routinely accepted by the Geographical Names Board.