The city of Hobart, Tasmania is served by a wide variety of transport. While the city's main form of transport is private transport on the road network, transport is also available by bus, ferry and aircraft. A suburban train service operated between Hobart and Brighton from the 1870s until 31 December 1974. [1] There has been, however, talk in recent years of reinstating a train service in the northern suburbs. [2] [3] [4]
Public transport in Hobart has been provided exclusively by buses since 1968. Trams ran in Hobart from 1893 to 1960 and were briefly replaced by trolleybuses, from 1960 to 1968. [5]
The low population density of Hobart has resulted in the creation of bus routes which cover a wide area and operate at a low frequency. The consequence is that bus travel is not competitive with travel by car, because routes are often lengthy and indirect, meaning that passengers can take a long time to reach their final destination. [6] This has contributed to Hobart having the second-lowest public transport patronage in Australia. [5] [7]
Since the completion of the Brighton Transport Hub, the former rail line through inner Hobart has fallen into disuse. Serious constraints in the road network, along with low-frequency bus services, have led to ongoing discussion of introducing light rail to Hobart. [8] It would make use of the rail corridor, creating a new express route to Hobart. [9] The proposed light rail system is known as Riverline or the Northern Suburbs Railway.
Taxis and limousines operate with no ties to Metro. Taxi Combined and Yellow Cabs run the large fleets of taxicabs in Hobart.
There are many bike tracks in the greater Hobart area, one of the most notable being the intercity bike track which runs from Hobart 12 km north to Glenorchy along an unused rail line of the Hobart–Bridgewater rail corridor. [10] Other bike routes travel through Mount Wellington and the waterfront of the River Derwent at various locations.
The release of the Hobart Area Transportation Study in 1964 has influenced the use of cars as the dominant mode of transport in Hobart. The Davey/Macquarie couplet expand east-west along the southern fringe of the city centre connecting the three major highways; the Southern Outlet, the Tasman Highway and the Brooker Highway which expand out to the outer suburbs. These highways are in turn supported by secondary arterial roads; Goodwood, Sandy Bay and Main Roads as well as the East Derwent and South Arm Highways.
Several private ferry operators run are based in Sullivans Cove for commuter, tourist and leisure purposes. Destinations include Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula, Peppermint Bay at Woodbridge, the eastern shore town centre of Bellerive, Wrest Point Casino in Sandy Bay, and Museum of Old and New Art in Berriedale. [11]
Hobart has the second deepest natural port in the world, second to only Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. [12] As a result, it sees an extensive cruise ship calendar, with approximately 30 ships berthing at Sullivans Cove between October and April each summer. [13] Hobart has also hosted visiting US Navy ships. [14]
Hobart serves as Australia's main sea link to Antarctica for the Australian Antarctic Division, headquartered in Kingston. Hobart is the home port to the Australian Icebreaker the Aurora Australis which serves the Australian Antarctic Territory during the summer months. Hobart is also home to the French ship L'Astrolabe , which makes regular supply runs to the French Southern Territories located around Antarctica. [15]
Hobart International Airport, located in the eastern satellite suburb of Cambridge, Tasmania, is Tasmania's busiest airport. 3 airlines and approaching 2 million domestic passengers utilize the airport each year. The airport is a hub for Skytraders, which operates chartered flights to Antarctica. Cambridge Aerodrome is situated in the same suburb and caters exclusively for general aviation and charter flights.
Hobart is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-smallest if territories are taken into account, before Darwin, Northern Territory. Hobart is located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, making it the most southern of Australia's capital cities. Its skyline is dominated by the 1,271-metre (4,170 ft) kunanyi/Mount Wellington, and its harbour forms the second-deepest natural port in the world, with much of the city's waterfront consisting of reclaimed land. The metropolitan area is often referred to as Greater Hobart, to differentiate it from the City of Hobart, one of the five local government areas that cover the city. It has a mild maritime climate.
The Tasman Bridge is a bridge that carries the Tasman Highway over the Derwent River in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Including approaches, the bridge has a total length of 1,396 metres (4,580 ft) and it provides the main traffic route from the Hobart city centre to the eastern shore. The bridge has a separated pedestrian footway on each side. There is no dedicated lane for bicycles; however, steps to the pedestrian footway were replaced with ramps in 2010.
Glenorchy is a suburb of Hobart, in the state of Tasmania, Australia. Glenorchy is bound by the River Derwent to the east, Mount Wellington to the west, Hobart City to the south and Brighton to the north. The city officially begins at Creek Road New Town, in Hobart's northern suburbs, and includes, Moonah, Derwent Park, Lutana, Goodwood, Montrose, Rosetta, Berriedale, Chigwell, Claremont and Austins Ferry. It is the seat of the local government area of the same name, the City of Glenorchy.
Clarence City Council is a local government body in Tasmania, and one of the five municipalities that constitutes the Greater Hobart Area. The Clarence local government area has a population of 56,945, covering the eastern shore of the Derwent River from Otago to the South Arm Peninsula and the smaller localities of Cambridge, Richmond, and Seven Mile Beach.
The Brooker Highway is a highway in the State of Tasmania, Australia. As one of Hobart's 3 major radials, the highway connects traffic from the Hobart city centre with the northern suburbs and is the major road connection to the cities and towns of Northern Tasmania. With an AADT of 48,000, the highway is one of the busiest in Tasmania. The Brooker Highway has recently been declared part of the National Highway.
The Tasman Highway is a highway in Tasmania, Australia. Like the Midland Highway, it connects the major cities of Hobart and Launceston – however it takes a different route, via the north-eastern and eastern coasts of the state. The Highway also acts as a major commuter road to Hobart residents living on the eastern side of the Derwent River. The designation "Tasman Highway" arises from its location facing the Tasman Sea – named, like the state itself, after Abel Tasman. The highway is one of the longest in Tasmania - 410 km (250 mi), with an average traveling time of 41⁄2 hours.
Hobart Airport is an international airport located in Cambridge, 17 km (11 mi) north-east of Hobart. It is the major and fastest growing passenger airport in Tasmania.
Moonah is a residential locality in the local government area (LGA) of Glenorchy in the Hobart LGA region of Tasmania. The locality is about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south-east of the town of Glenorchy. The 2016 census recorded a population of 5421 for the state suburb of Moonah. It is a suburb in the city of Hobart, located approximately 5 km north of the central business district of Hobart, and lying directly north of the inner city suburb New Town.
The Bridgewater Bridge is a road and rail bridge that carries the Midland Highway and South Railway Line across the Derwent River in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. The steel truss vertical lift bridge and specially-built causeway connect the Hobart suburbs of Bridgewater and Granton. The bridge was completed in 1946 and accommodates a two-lane highway, a single track railway and a grade-separated footpath.
Main Road is a major arterial road that runs through the northern suburbs of Hobart, Tasmania. The road continues on from New Town Road at Lenah Valley and runs in close proximity with the Southern Railway Line and travels on a near parallel trajectory with the Derwent River until it reaches Granton where it merges with the Brooker Highway. Prior to the construction of the Brooker Highway the only way traffic could travel to the northern cities of the state was to drive via Main Road.
Metro Tasmania, commonly called Metro, a Tasmanian Government business enterprise, is the largest bus operator in the state of Tasmania, Australia, with operations in three of the four largest urban centres of Hobart, Launceston, and Burnie. Urban services in Devonport are provided by a private operator, Merseylink Coaches. Services are provided by Metro under a range of urban and non-urban contracts with the Transport Commission, a division within the Department of State Growth.
Dowsing Point is a residential locality in the local government area (LGA) of Glenorchy in the Hobart LGA region of Tasmania. The locality is about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) north-east of the town of Glenorchy. The 2016 census recorded a population of 85 for the state suburb of Dowsing Point.
Rose Bay is a suburb of the City of Clarence in greater Hobart, capital city of Tasmania, Australia. Rose Bay is a small suburb, making up only approximately 0.9 square kilometres with nearly one fourth of that area (23.2%) being parkland. At the 2016 Census the suburb recorded a population of 1,102 people.
The South Arm Highway is a highway serving the southern suburbs of Hobart, on the eastern shore of the River Derwent in Tasmania, Australia. The highway is a major trunk road that carries heavy commuter traffic south from the Eastern Outlet to Howrah and Rokeby. As one of the Tasman Highway's principle Feeders and one of the eastern shore's major transport corridors, The South Arm Highway facilitates the movement of traffic between the suburbs and satellite communities to the south with the city centre and ultimately, other major cross city highways. With annual average daily traffic (AADT) of 17,000, the highway is considered a major traffic corridor within Hobart. The designation "South Arm Highway" arises from its journey south to South Arm.
The South Line, also known as the Main Line and sometimes the North/South Line or the North–South Line, is a freight rail corridor connecting Hobart to the northern ports of Tasmania. The Railway Line was built by the Tasmanian Main Line Company.
Trams no longer operate in Hobart, the capital of the Australian state of Tasmania, but the city once had an extensive and popular system that reached the majority of its suburbs. It was the first complete electric tram system in the Southern Hemisphere, and the only one in Australia to operate double-decker trams.
The Hobart Bypass is a proposed concept to bypass the Central Business District of Hobart, Tasmania. Currently, through traffic travels from the Tasman/Brooker Highways down the one-way Davey/Macquarie couplet to the Southern Outlet. As well as traffic concerns, there is also a call to build the bypass on the grounds that the current traffic arrangement cuts the central business district off from Hobart's waterfront.
The Hobart Area Transportation Study was a comprehensive transport plan released in 1965 for the purpose of examining the transport needs of the Australian Hobart metropolitan area over the proceeding 20 years. The study predicted the majority of the proposed traffic corridors would need to be operational by the 1985 target year.
Riverline, also known as the Northern Suburbs Railway, is a proposed AU$100 million light rail system that would traverse the southernmost section of the South Railway Line, through the northern suburbs of Hobart, Tasmania.
The Glenorchy Art and Sculpture Park (GASP) is a sculpture park in Glenorchy, Tasmania, Australia. Commencing at Montrose Foreshore Community Park, GASP follows Elwick Bay's foreshore, terminating at Wilkinsons Point. GASP is in close proximity to the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in Berriedale.