Released 19/03/2023
Canberrans are embracing public transport for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic with more than 1.207 million journeys taken across our city in February.
This is the highest number of journeys recorded in a month since the pandemic began, in the shortest month of the year, and represents a return of 94.5% of 2019 patronage in the same month.
Weekend numbers last month were particularly impressive, showing 26% more weekend journeys taken compared to February 2019, averaging 18177 daily weekend journeys.
“It’s great to see more Canberrans returning to public transport after the pandemic saw patronage drop in cities around the world,” said Minister for Transport Chris Steel.
“More than 100,000 passenger journeys were recorded during the National Multicultural Festival alone, which means our public transport recovery is gathering real pace.”
Festivities around the National Multicultural Festival’s big return as well as numbers for the Royal Canberra Show helped to bolster patronage in February, but both of these events also occurred in February 2019.
The ACT Government will continue to invest in our public transport network with a range of new service improvements.
“Our goal is for public transport to make a full recovery from the impacts of the pandemic and keep growing public transport patronage into the future,” said Minister Steel.
“It’s an exciting time for public transport in Canberra with 12 electric buses joining the fleet, 90 more electric buses being procured, light rail being extended south, and a new ticketing system being rolled out.
“These improvements are about making it as easy and as comfortable as possible to use public transport in Canberra and will encourage even more people to jump on board.”
For more information on Canberra’s public transport recovery, visit the public transport recovery plan refresh at: https://www.transport.act.gov.au/planning-for-the-future
This data represents the highest public transport usage since pre-COVID, and a return to over 80% of pre-COVID patronage (Source: MyWay Public Transport Journeys in Feb-20 and Feb-23)*
- Statement ends -
Chris Steel, MLA | Media Releases