First quarter bus total the best of this decade
THE number of people travelling by bus in the first three months of the year was the highest this decade.
A total of 327,723 people travelled on scheduled services during the first three months of 2017, representing an increase of 35,169 over 2016.
The number of passengers went up by 11,738 in January, 7,281 in February and 16,150 in March.
The number of fare-paying passengers increased by 8,568 journeys.
Environment and Infrastructure president Barry Brehaut said further improvement on last year's record-setting passenger figures were encouraging to see.
'The figures demonstrate that a punctual, reliable, well-funded service is a real benefit to the community,' he said.
The most significant rise during the first quarter was in student travel outside of school times, which rose by 20,145 journeys.
Those in full-time education can apply for a free pass to travel on all services before 10pm.
'It is particularly encouraging to see so many students using the service on a regular basis too, a welcome respite perhaps for the taxi of mum and dad,' said Deputy Brehaut.
