Sydney has topped a national list for transport costs, with the average family paying about $420 a week to get around, according to a new report.

The Australian Automobile Association (AAA) has done the first national Transport Affordability Index.

The Association commissioned the SGS economic and planning group, which recently completed the Housing Affordability Index, to show the impact of transport on households across the country.

Weekly transport costs: City Jan-Mar Apr-Jul Sydney $420.11 $419.06 Melbourne $352.52 $348.49 Brisbane $380.71 $375.64 Perth $305.80 $300.99 Adelaide $287.79 $285.66 Hobart $278.73 $271.17 Darwin $295.14 $286.28 Canberra $305.52 $299.61 National ave. $328.29 $323.36 Source: Transport Affordability Index

On average, Australian households used 13 per cent of its income to fund the transport requirements of a household, compared to 1 to 3 per cent on power, water and telecommunications.

"Australians know transport is expensive, but they might be surprised to know just how expensive," AAA chief executive Michael Bradley said.

"The average household will spend $14,000 a year on transport in Hobart, but up to $22,000 annually if they live in western Sydney."

AAA spokesman Nick Tyrrell said the index included a wide range of costs families face when they own a car, including upfront and ongoing costs which increase the more a vehicle is driven, along with public transport costs.

Mr Tyrrell said Sydney had topped the list with 17 per cent of total household income spent on transport.

"It is actually incredible, $420 a week for a typical Sydney family, and when you think about it, that is a huge expense," Mr Tyrell said.

Mr Bradley said car repayments were a main contributor to transport costs.

"Car repayments were a large one, fuel is always one and in Sydney more so than anywhere else you have road tolls as well," he said.

The next most expensive capital city is Brisbane at $380 a week, followed by Melbourne at $352 a week.

The study found the average Brisbane resident paid $65 dollars per week to catch buses and trains, compared to $39 for Melbourne residents.

"Brisbane, that was a surprising one, Brisbane actually came out on top with regards to public transport costs, even beat Sydney and Melbourne," Mr Bradley said.

The weekly transport costs were the least in Adelaide at $287 a week and Hobart at $278.

Housing affordability driving up transport costs

Peter Khoury from the New South Wales peak motoring body, NRMA, said it did not come as a surprise, especially for people commuting big distances to get to work.

"Tolls appear prominently on the index list. For a lot of people in western and north-western Sydney, the toll road is the only option if they want to get around, not to mention fuel and other costs," he said.

"Housing affordability means people live further away from work due to prices. You then automatically increase the costs of getting around.

"One of the things our members are complaining about is congestion, which is not just a real cost, but a social cost as well."

Mr Tyrrell said the AAA put the index together to put pressure on policymakers on behalf of consumers.

"There are big impacts state and federal governments can have. There needs to be better co-ordination between those two levels to help households. It is not just about cars, our members are talking about transport infrastructure overall, including roads and public transport," he said.

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