Canberra’s first day as the operator of a light rail service has been declared a “great success” by Chief Minister, Andrew Barr and the Minister for Transport, Meegan Fitzharris.
Mr Barr said about 25,000 people took advantage of a free ride last Saturday.
“The formal event wrapped up at 4pm, but services will continue to operate to timetable, so the total number of passengers will continue to grow,” Mr Barr said.
“Ten vehicles were deployed on the day, running 130 trips and covering 1,560 kilometres.”
He said the City and Gungahlin terminals came to life with live music, kids’ entertainment and barbecues for people waiting to ride. Typical waiting times were between 15-to- 25 minutes.
“The day was a great success, with people of all ages trying out the light rail for the first time,” Mr Barr said.
“We saw the community at its best: Embracing a new opportunity with enthusiasm, safety and courtesy for their fellow passengers.”
Ms Fitzharris said the passenger experience would keep getting better as drivers became used to taking passengers and journey times and frequency continued to improve.
“Thank you to everyone who came out for a great celebration of our city,” Ms Fitzharris said.
She said paying services were now in operation but would become free again for a month starting Monday (29 April) across the new network of light rail and buses.
