Transport Canberra has reported that the number of passengers taking advantage of the new public transport network’s free travel recorded more than half a million ‘boardings’ in its first week.
Minister for Transport, Meegan Fitzharris said that with the current month of free travel on buses and light rail, it was “good to see” more Canberrans getting out of their cars and using public transport.
“In just the first week, we have seen the highest ever numbers of boardings, as well as individual journeys and MyWay cards in use,” Ms Fitzharris said.
“We’ve seen sales of MyWay cards increase four-fold across the board, including for seniors, and there are more school students travelling on the system than ever before.”
She said people were also using public transport more on weekends, with twice as many boardings on Sunday, 5 May as at the same time last year.
Ms Fitzharris acknowledged that there had been a lot of community feedback, particularly where individual journeys had changed, and she was taking that feedback on board.
“As with any update to our public transport network we understand this is a big change in people’s lives, particularly where individual journeys are different,” the Minister said.
“We acknowledge that for some existing users this has been a big change to their daily routine, but it’s also been good to see commuters seeking out more information, and giving it a go.”
She said Transport Canberra was monitoring services used by school students across the city and engaging with all schools during the transition to the new services.
