Gold Coast Light Rail stage 3A: new data reveals southern Gold Coast bus routes more popular than ever
NEW data has revealed how popular the southern Gold Coast’s bus network actually is as support for its replacement by Light rail stage 3A to Burleigh grows.
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THE Gold Coast’s southern bus lines are more popular than ever before, with new figures adding ammunition to the push for extending the tram to Burleigh Heads.
Patronage has dramatically increased over the past two years, Department of Transport and Main Roads figures obtained by the Gold Coast Bulletin reveal.
The data shows:
* The number of people riding the 700 route from Broadbeach to Tweed Heads has increased by nearly 10 per cent, from 2.08 million passenger trips in 2016-17 to 2.2 million in 2017-18.
* The 777 route from Broadbeach to Gold Coast Airport has seen an increase in patronage of nearly 11 per cent, rising 586,390 in 2016-17 to 649,081 in 2017-18.
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Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said the figures were welcome.
“There is no doubt that Gold Coasters are loving their public transport, whether it is light rail or buses,” he said.
“New data on these two bus routes is a case in point and I think it is clear that people on the Gold Coast are putting their trust in public transport like never before.
“The success of Gold Coast light rail has exceeded all expectations, transforming public confidence in public transport.”
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More than 182 million trips were taken on public transport in the southeast last year, the most on record.
The figures come after the Gold Coast Bulletin revealed on Saturday that support for the light rail extension south was higher than expected.
Among those excited is regular bus user Tom Hollindale who said he was keen to see the tramline extended.
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“I catch the bus from Broadbeach to Burleigh and there are lot of people my age getting on and off,” he said.
“Burleigh is a great place to go for a swim and extending the tram would be great but they have a lot of work ahead of them.
“It will make getting there far more efficient.”
The state project team is accelerating the design for the next stages of the tram track for the $660 million project which Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s Federal Coalition has pledged $112 million towards in the next Budget. City of Gold Coast’s contribution is expected to top $66m with an understanding State Government will pick up the rest.
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Independent research conducted for the State Government showed:
* 86 per cent of residents across the Gold Coast support stage 3A to Burleigh and 91 per cent back stage 3B to Coolangatta.
* 72 per cent living in the future Broadbeach-Burleigh corridor support 3A and 75 per cent approve of 3B.
* 80 per cent of businesses in the future corridor support 3A and 83 per cent back 3B.
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