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Revenue from Brisbane’s toll roads has climbed at more than double the rate of traffic growth, helping make Queensland one of Transurban’s strongest-performing markets over the past year.
In its annual report to the Australian Stock Exchange on Thursday, the toll-road operator reported average daily traffic on its Brisbane network grew 2.5 per cent in the 2025-26 financial year to 483,000 trips a day. Over the same period, toll revenue from its Brisbane assets rose 6.2 per cent to $633 million.
But it would have been more, had pre-construction forecasts had come to fruition.
Analysis by this masthead earlier in the year found Brisbane toll roads were still recording average daily trips below their opening forecasts – more than a decade after the last of them, the $1.5 billion Legacy Way tunnel, was opened in 2015.
Transurban’s other south-east Queensland roads included the Clem7 and Airport Link tunnels, along with the Gateway Motorway, the Go Between Bridge and the Logan Motorway.
Operating earnings from the Brisbane business increased 8.8 per cent to $493 million, outpacing growth in Sydney and Melbourne.
Traffic volumes in Brisbane increased across both weekdays and weekends. Average weekday traffic rose 2.5 per cent, while weekend and public holiday traffic increased 2.7 per cent.
Growth was particularly strong among heavy vehicles. Large vehicle traffic increased 4.9 per cent during the year, compared with 1.8 per cent growth in car traffic.
Brisbane was not alone in recording higher traffic volumes, with Transurban reporting growth across all its markets. Group-wide average daily traffic increased 2.2 per cent to 2.6 million trips a day, while toll revenue rose 6.7 per cent to almost $4 billion.
The company posted an after-tax profit of $432 million, up from $178 million in 2024-25.
Chief executive Michelle Jablko said the business results came despite economic and geopolitical uncertainty, with traffic growth recorded in every region.
Transurban expects to pay investors a distribution of 72¢ per share in the 2026-27 financial year, up from 69¢ the previous year.
The company said traffic in June and July had been stronger than in April and May, although future shareholder dividends would remain dependent on traffic performance and broader economic conditions.
At 483,000 trips a day, Brisbane accounted for almost one-fifth of the group’s average daily traffic and generated $633 million in annual toll revenue.
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