The Federal Budget's failure to address years of under-investment in public transport infrastructure has left the country extremely vulnerable to rising oil prices, the Australian Greens warned today.

In Senate Budget Estimates committee hearings this week, Greens spokesperson for transport Senator Scott Ludlam confirmed that once again, Commonwealth infrastructure funds were pouring into urban road building while public transport funding lagged far behind.

"This budget commits five times as much funding to roads than to rail. Virtually nothing has been committed to cycling infrastructure, and with the Energy White Paper still a long way over the horizon, our country is sleepwalking in the age of peak oil."

Decades of under-investment by governments across Australia have left the country extremely vulnerable to rising oil prices, the Australian Greens warned today.

Greens transport spokesperson Senator Scott Ludlam said governments had been pouring money into roads and fuel subsidies while neglecting public rail.

"Over the past decade in this country, the amount of money spent by all levels of government on building public roads and bridges has been 4.3 times that spent on public railway construction," he said. "At a time when it is clear the days of cheap oil are over, and with Australia set to import 70% of its oil by 2015, this is a recipe for disaster."

Western Australian Senator Scott Ludlam has urged the State Government to make a Perth light rail network a budget priority, with reports that a public transport strategy will go to cabinet on Monday.

"Up until now this has been a campaign of lines on maps. It is time for line items in the budget," he said. "We need a funding commitment from the State Government and an application to Infrastructure Australia to secure Federal funding for light rail."

Senator Ludlam, the Greens spokesperson for public transport, said reducing traffic congestion and carbon emissions were just two of the benefits of light rail.