EVER wondered how far you've travelled back and forth for work over your life?

For the average Perth worker it adds up to 500,000km — more than 12 times around the globe — and beats the distance totals for all other state capitals.

In Adelaide, commuters clock up a mere 292,000km to and from work during their careers. Melburnians travel just shy of 400,000km, while workers in Brisbane and Sydney record 420,000km and 463,000km respectively.

Perth’s urban sprawl and a lack of jobs in the suburbs is to blame, experts say.

Australia came 13th on the global list of long commutes compiled by fleet management firm Global Positioning Specialists.

Peter Newman, Distinguished Professor of Sustainability at Curtin University, said most jobs were in central Perth, so people had little choice but to commute.

“The solution is not to build a freeway, because then you get more people driving in and driving further, and it makes things worse,” he said.

“We had 400,000 people come here in seven years during the boom, and it’s hard for that not to impact on congestion.

“In the last 10 years there’s been a very rapid rise in journey times. It’s as sharp an increase as anywhere in Australia, or anywhere else, I’d say.”