Brisbane residents are using public transport more to move around the city on Friday and Saturday nights, and on weekends.
Brisbane City Council figures show that weekend and evening bus travel is up 160 percent in the past year.
This is a subset of a 27 percent overall increase in patronage of Brisbane Metro and the city bus service over two years, coinciding with 50 cent flat fares.
BCC said pedestrian movement data also pointed to busier weekend nights across Brisbane’s entertainment precincts.
“Foot traffic through Queen Street Mall increased by up to 6 percent between 7pm and 8pm on Saturdays,” the Council said.
“Fortitude Valley recorded increases of up to 10 percent during 8pm and 9pm on Saturday nights.”
BCC said in a statement that more residents were swapping rideshares and car trips for public transport on Friday and Saturday nights.
The figures showed that over the past 12 months:
- M1 services recorded 154,779 passenger trips on Friday and Saturday evenings between 7pm and midnight — an increase of more than 60 percent compared with the former Route 111 and 160.
- M2 services recorded 164,999 passenger trips on Friday and Saturday evenings between 7pm and midnight – up more than 160 percent compared with the former Route 66.
- M1 weekend passenger trips climbed to 746,874 – up almost 90 percent.
- M2 weekend passenger trips rocketed to 771,681 – an increase of over 107 percent.
Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said it was clear that people would use public transport when it was affordable, reliable and frequent.
“It’s fantastic to see more residents jumping on Brisbane Metro and our new bus network for nights out, weekend events and trips into the city because they know they can rely on it” he said.
“Good public transport isn’t just about the weekday commute anymore. It’s about giving people confidence they can get around whenever they want to travel.”
