Canberra’s light rail system has reached a passenger milestone, the ACT Government announced: 15 million total passengers this weekend.
“We’re incredibly proud of the services that light rail is providing Canberrans ensuring a convenient, attractive, sustainable, and reliable form of public transport,” Chris Steel, ACT Minister for Transport and City Services, said.
“That’s why we’re investing in additional stages to bring this fantastic service to more parts of the city, and expanding light rail to the southside to create the central mass transit spine that our fast-growing city needs from Gungahlin to Woden.”
A light rail satisfaction survey undertaken last month found that 98 per cent of passengers reported they found light rail easy to use.
Fifty-one per cent of passengers also reported that when light rail stage 2A (City to Commonwealth Park) is built, they plan to use it.
“It’s been a real win for Canberrans who live on the northside being able to skip the traffic on their way into work, the city, or surrounding suburbs on the light rail line,” Mr Steel said.
In the past three months, 22 per cent of all public transport journeys across the whole of Canberra were on the light rail.
“Light rail increases public transport patronage,” Mr Steel remarked. Around 43 per cent of people who use it had not used other types of public transport before.
Public transport mode share in Gungahlin has increased by nearly 50 per cent since the introduction of light rail. Private car usage has declined; the highest drop was recorded in Gungahlin and North Canberra, along the light rail alignment, reducing by 9 per cent in Gungahlin, and 13 per cent in North Canberra.
“Buses alone won’t deliver increased patronage on public transport, or the mass transit we need to move more people as our city grows,” Mr Steel said. “Light rail stage 1 has already shown it can provide these benefits to our city, and it’s why we are extending to the line to the southside.”
Construction on Stage 2A – which will extend the line to Commonwealth Park – is expected to start once London Circuit is raised.
“The raising London Circuit work is progressing well, with the first temporary road and demolition of the southbound bridge over London Circuit fully complete,” Mr Steel said.
“Over the next year, Canberrans can expect to see our city centre change substantially with the upgrades better connecting the city and the lake whilst planning and design continues on the further Stage 2B to Woden.
“We’ve also started construction on the ‘green track’ prototype at the National Arboretum Canberra, where Canberrans will be able to see the design of grassed track areas through the city on the stage 2A line and the Light Rail Stage 2A project will benefit from their understanding of the prototype’s performance, and the necessary refinements to the current design.”
The Canberra Liberals, however, have vowed to stop the costly project should they come to power next year. They argue that light rail – “the Labor-Greens white elephant” – will cost more than $3 billion from Civic to Woden, or $14 billion in total, and that the debt-ridden government is taking money from education, health, housing, policing, and city maintenance to pay for it. Their motion to halt light rail earlier this year was defeated.
