More than 66,000 commuters have piled onto Sydney’s new driverless metro trains on average each weekday in their first two months of operation despite a spate of disruptions, figures show.
The weekday patronage in June and July makes the 36-kilometre Metro Northwest rail line from Chatswood to Rouse Hill in Sydney’s north west almost as well used as the Eastern Suburbs line, the city’s fourth busiest.
O’Sullivan (2019-08-19)
Frequency is Freedom
Mathew Hounsell, a transport data analyst at the Institute for Sustainable Futures, said the new line’s patronage showed that people responded well to frequent all-stop services.
O’Sullivan (2019-08-19)
My Quotes
“Almost 20 per cent growth year-on-year is really, really good. We are seeing changes in behaviour patterns but they are not bedded down yet,” he said. “It usually takes nine to 12 months for people to really get used to a new transport option because people don’t change their habits immediately.”
Mr Hounsell said patronage of the single-deck metro trains was strong on Sundays, averaging almost 60 per cent of weekdays. In comparison, Sydney Trains average about 42 per cent of weekday patronage on Sundays.
O’Sullivan (2019-08-19)
Citation: O’Sullivan (2019-08-19)
Matt O’Sullivan (2019-08-19) “Commuters pour onto Sydney’s new driverless trains, figures show” Sydney Morning Herald, Fairfax Media Ltd – Nine Entertainment Co. Sydney, NSW, Australia. https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/commuters-pour-onto-sydney-s-new-driverless-trains-figures-show-20190809-p52fmx.html Accessed 2020-02-22