It was laid out in 1837 as part of the original Hoddle Grid. The street vertically bisects Melbourne's city centre and is famous as the world's busiest tram corridor, for its heritage buildings and as a shopping strip.

The Melbourne Tram Network in Australia remains the largest operational tram network in the world in 2026, and its Route 96 (St Kilda to East Brunswick) is widely cited as the busiest individual tram corridor. This specific route carries over one million passengers per month, often peaking at over 35,000 riders per day. It runs through the heart of the Melbourne CBD along Bourke Street, serving as a vital artery for shoppers, office workers, and tourists. The corridor's high volume is driven by the lack of parallel train lines in the inner-northern suburbs and its direct access to the famous St Kilda beach. In 2026, Yarra Trams has deployed its largest "E-Class" high-capacity trams on this route to manage the 2026 population surge. Other contenders for "busiest" include the tram corridors in Budapest (Lines 4 and 6), which use some of the longest trams in the world to move massive crowds across the city's Grand Boulevard.