Understanding how Perth’s community moves is about more than counting trips. It’s about spotting the trends and behaviours shaping our city’s future.
These insights inform transport planning, guide service and infrastructure investment and support policy decisions that influence how people travel across Perth and surrounding areas. The Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure (DTMI) conducts annual surveys to better understand how people travel, work and live.1 Transport Insights uses the surveys to explore topical issues and identify opportunities for deeper study.
In 2025, the findings highlighted shifts in working arrangements, lifestyle, education, mobility and commerce, all of which are reshaping travel patterns, placing new demands on infrastructure and changing transport needs.
Some findings were collected for the first time providing a baseline for emerging behaviours. We chose these topics due to their growing relevance, and future surveys will help us track changes and inform planning over time.
From the rise in working from home to how people do their shopping, these changes point to a transport system in transition.
Monitoring these trends enables smarter planning, faster responses and a transport network that continues to meet the needs of a growing population.
Through this work, DTMI aims to:
- anticipate and plan for future transport needs
- strengthen the resilience of the transport system as behaviours evolve
- support sustainable mobility and ensure the system serves the whole community.
1 The General Population Survey was conducted with Perth metropolitan residents (n=1,128) in May 2025 using a panel recruitment methodology. The sample is representative of Perth’s demographic profile including age, sex, income and work status.