Metro-bound commuting and regional development: evidence from Victoria

Metro-bound commuters are people who live in regional areas and travel to major cities for work, connecting regional cities and towns with the major cities and their prospering economies. As governments invest in regional transport infrastructure, as well as become concerned about spatial inequity, how regional development outcomes can be obtained from metro-bound commuting is an important question. Analysis of the 2006 and 2011 census data for Melbourne and regional Victoria indicates that while the growth in metro-bound commuting was marginal, there was an important transition from people commuting to outer suburban work in factories and warehouses, to commuting to inner city office work. This article presents an introduction to metro-bound commuting in Victoria, providing the basis for further research into how regional fortunes may be improved as a result of the growth in this section of the community.