There’s no denying that working from home a couple of days a week in a post-pandemic world has cut the time spent commuting for many workers across a range of industries.
But not every industry allows workers the luxury of doing away with their daily commute.
Though travel costs can vary depending on a driver’s individual circumstances, new data has revealed which workers are paying the most in traffic costs.
A new report by insurance comparison site iSelect – which analysed Census and Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data – found that medical practitioners are paying the highest congestion fees per year.
According to the report – which took into account the average median income and hourly rate of different industries, as well as fuel costs to calculate the general opportunity cost of time lost to work commutes – medical practitioners, such as doctors and nurses, spent an average of $6784 in congestion fees each year.
On average, medical workers lose the equivalent of four days and four hours to traffic during their commute per year, the highest among the occupations analysed.
Additionally, professionals in the air and marine transport industry are also among the most financially impacted by congestion, spending approximately $5436 annually in congestion fees.
Further worsening conditions for air and marine transport workers is the fact that their average one-way daily commute is 40.1km, close to doubling the distance covered by most of the top 10 occupations studied in the report.
Coming in third are health diagnostic and promotional workers – such as dietitians and nutritionists – who spend the equivalent of four days a year in just traffic time, costing them an average of $5418 per year.
ICT managers – occupations relating to the management of computer and telecommunications systems in organisations – came in fourth, with their daily commute costing approximately $5177 a year.
Rounding out the top-five list are advertising, public relations, and sales managers, who lose an estimated three days and eight hours per year to congestion at a cost of $5157.
On a national scale, the iSelect report revealed that Australians collectively are losing approximately 212 million hours in traffic, costing approximately $9.7 billion “in lost time” and a further $462 million in fuel costs, equating to an annual loss of $10.1 billion.
According to iSelect general manager of insurance Adrian Bennett, the data highlights a key issue beyond a driver’s finances.
“Our research shows that Australians are losing millions of hours and billions of dollars each year stuck in traffic, but congestion doesn’t just hit the wallet; it also increases the risk of accidents,” Bennett said.
“Stop-start driving, heavy traffic, and driver frustration can make the roads more hazardous, especially during peak hour.”
Ethan Cardinal graduated with a Journalism degree in 2020 from La Trobe University and has been working in the fashion industry as a freelance writer prior to joining Drive in 2023. Ethan greatly enjoys investigating and reporting on the cross sections between automotive, lifestyle and culture. Ethan relishes the opportunity to explore how deep cars are intertwined within different industries and how they could affect both casual readers and car enthusiasts.
