Concessions, supports, and money-saving methods that can make it easier to get where you’re going.
Transport is an essential part of life. Aside from walking, most ways of getting around cost money – like fuel, maintenance and registration for cars and motorbikes; ticketed public transport; taxis and rideshares; and the expenses of keeping a bicycle in good repair.
On this page, we explain how you could save on travel costs.
Location and affordability
It can cost a lot to get to work or study if you don’t live nearby. Inner city areas that tend to be more expensive often have better public transport coverage than more affordable outer suburbs or regional areas, where services are often limited.
You might need a car to get to your work if you can’t afford to live close by, but someone who earns a little more might be able to live closer and go without a car to save money. This is part of the reason it can be said that ‘it’s expensive to be poor’.
For regional communities especially, the need to travel a long way for opportunities is a big barrier to employment, shopping, education, and more.
Public transport ticket concessions
Every state and territory has concession schemes for public transport. These schemes are designed to make travelling cheaper or free for some. This includes younger people, students, seniors, carers, people with a Low-Income Health Care Card, people living with a disability, and refugees.
| Australian Capital Territory | Transport Canberra |
| New South Wales | Ticket eligibility and concessions |
| Northern Territory | Bus tickets and fares |
| Queensland | Concessions |
| South Australia | Adelaide Metro fares |
| Tasmania | Concessions |
| Victoria | Concessions |
| Western Australia | Transperth Concessions guide (Perth) Transwa Concession (Regional) |
Community transport
Local councils and other community organisations often run affordable transport services for eligible people, especially seniors and people living with disability.
Where to find information
Search online for ‘community transport’ in your local government area.
Search ‘transport’ at the Ask Izzy website.
Costs of buying and owning a car
A car is up there with some of the most expensive items people buy, and they’re costly to run as well. Where there is no or little public transport, you often have no choice but to drive.
Buying a car
Your first step is to work out your budget. If you need to borrow money, shop around for the right loan for you. You want to make sure you know how much you can afford to repay on a loan before committing to anything.
It’s important to note that if a car bought with a loan is damaged or ‘written off’ in an accident, you may still need to pay off the loan.
Related costs
In addition to the price of the car itself, you need to pay for car registration, stamp duty and insurance. So, you’ll want to take these costs into account before deciding what to buy.
📌 To learn more about what’s involved, see Moneysmart’s buying a car and car loan pages, or see our loans and debt page.
Use the Moneysmart cars app for help working out the real cost of buying a car and finding the right finance options for you.
No interest loans for vehicles
No Interest Loans (NILs) allow you to borrow money to help you get back on your feet without having any of the crippling interest or high fees that come with other forms of loans.
How does it work?
NILs for vehicles are typically offered for $2000 – $5000 for the purchase of an essential vehicle, including cars, scooters, mobility scooters, motorcycles and boats.
There are certain rules around who can apply for NILs to buy a vehicle. Generally, in addition to being able to show that you can repay the loan, you must:
- earn less than $70,000 gross annual income as a single or $100,000 gross annual income as a couple or person with dependants
- or have experienced family or domestic violence in the last 10 years
- or have a Health Care Card / Pension Card
- and you can show that you have the capacity to repay the loan.
Who provides NILs?
The No Interest Loan for vehicles scheme is one of the financial services provided by Good Shepherd Microfinance. You can find providers over at the Good Shepherd NILs for vehicles website.
Good Shepherd Microfinance also runs a No Interest Loan scheme that is for everyday items other than road vehicles. These NILs can also be used to cover the cost of car repairs or other unexpected costs. Find out more at the Good Shepherd website.
Running a car
A lot of the costs of running a car are unavoidable, so it’s important to factor them into your regular budget. Cars need fuel, registration, insurance, regular services, and maintenance if they break down. Prevention is the best way to avoid added running costs – which means keeping them in good shape.
The cost of regular services on your car might seem like a lot, but they can keep your car going longer, prevent breakdowns, and leave you better off in the long run.
How to save on fuel costs
- try to make necessary trips only – for example, by bundling errands into single trips
- if you can, look for a car with better fuel efficiency
- think about carpooling, for example, on your work commute or the school drop-off
Car loan deals on running costs
Some car loans offer to build in the expenses of running a car, like services or registration. But this will likely mean taking out a bigger loan. If you want to avoid extra interest on your loan debt, you might prefer to pay for running costs like these separately. Be sure to check what your car loan includes.
Using and avoiding toll roads
There are toll roads that require payment for use in Melbourne, Sydney and in and around Brisbane (Ipswich and Toowoomba). When using online navigation tools, like Google Maps, you can see where toll roads are and find alternative routes to help you avoid taking them.
How toll roads work
Most toll roads work on an electronic tagging system, so that your vehicle’s presence is recorded. You will get a bill for being on the toll road and must pay it. If you can’t afford the bill, you can contact the provider’s hardship department and see how they could help.
If you need to use toll roads often, consider setting up an account with the toll road provider – it’s sometimes less expensive than paying trip by trip.
Insurance
The law in Australia requires that everybody who owns a car has a minimum level of insurance on it. There are a few different types of insurance plans on offer, with varying costs and levels of coverage in case of an accident or theft.
Insurance can cover:
- you
- your car
- other people and their property.
📌 Find out more about car insurance by taking a look at Moneysmart and see our insurance and making claims page.
Claiming work-related transport on tax
There are some times when you can claim travel costs you incur for work on your tax return. This means that when you complete a tax return, the amount you spent is taken into consideration when assessing your tax payable.
To find out when you can claim travel expenses, visit the Australian Taxation Office website.
Remember that it’s best to keep records of any expenses you plan to claim on tax.
📌 For more about tax, doing tax returns and reducing your tax bill, see our tax system page.
Disability subsidies and allowances
If you are living with disability, you may be eligible for the Mobility Allowance, support payments with Centrelink or the state and territory-operated taxi travel schemes.
Mobility allowance
The Mobility Allowance is for people with a disability who need help using public transport. It can help cover travel for study, training, work, and job seeking, and is for people aged 16 and older.
Taxi travel schemes
Taxi travel schemes are run by the state and territory governments to help people living with a disability pay for taxi travel.
| Australian Capital Territory | Taxi Subsidy Scheme 02 6205 1012 |
| New South Wales | Taxi Transport Subsidy Scheme 1800 623 724 |
| Northern Territory | Transport Subsidy and Incentive Schemes 08 8999 5511 |
| Queensland | Taxi Subsidy Scheme and Lift Payment 1300 134 755 |
| South Australia | South Australian Transport Subsidy Scheme 1300 360 840 |
| Tasmania | Taxi Subsidy Program 1300 851 225 |
| Victoria | Multi Purpose Taxi Program 1800 638 802 |
| Western Australia | Taxi User Subsidy Scheme 1300 660 147 |
This information was last updated on 5 June 2023.
The links and resources in this article have been compiled and reviewed by the Brotherhood of St. Laurence. We aren’t responsible for what you’ll find at the links, though we do hope you find the information useful. See our disclaimer if you’d like to know more.
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