Nearly 48,000 light rail passenger boardings were recorded in Canberra over Summernats earlier this month, a big return to public transport for the car festival with passengers surpassing pre-pandemic levels.

The light rail vehicles door passenger counters recorded more than double the numbers from Summernats the year before, and nearly 16,500 more than the last pre-pandemic festival in 2020. 

On the Friday (6 January) of the four-day festival, the busiest period was recorded between 3pm and 8pm, where 5,772 passengers jumped onboard a service.

Anthony Haraldson, acting executive branch manager Light Rail Operations, said it was pleasing to know locals and visitors alike have regained their confidence using the light rail to get to Summernats after two COVID-19 impacted years.

“We knew that light rail would be an important method of travel for attendees this year, especially with the Summernats fringe festival taking place in Braddon on both the Friday and Saturday evenings,” he said.

An additional 90 services ran on both nights to help people move between EPIC, Braddon, and Civic.

Following its cancellation in 2021, Summernats 2022 was capped at 80,000 attendees, and 23,235 light rail passenger boardings were recorded.

The last pre-pandemic festival in 2020 saw 31,326 passengers boarding the light rail. 

“Canberrans have slowly regained their confidence in returning to public transport after a tough period and our travel habits have changed,” Mr Haraldson said.

“We’re now travelling at different times and there’s a great opportunity to rethink our routines to include more public transport.

“An additional 42 light rail services were scheduled on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day to help Canberrans travel to and from events around the city, including the fireworks over Lake Burley Griffin.”

More than 12,000 light rail passenger boardings were recorded over New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

“Last November, additional services to support Spilt Milk, Canberra’s largest festival in recent years, also had excellent passenger results with more than 23,899 customers using the light rail service on the day, despite a 20-minute interruption to bus and light rail services,” Mr Haraldson said.

For more information on public transport to major events and how to plan your journey, visit transport.act.gov.au. 

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