By JOLENE OGLE
NOOSA Council’s free Easter bus has been hailed a success, with more than 33,000 people using the service over the eight day period.
In a report presented to Council’s Infrastructure and Services committee on Tuesday, Translink reported a 215 per cent increase in passengers when compared to last year, making this their highest passenger rates on record.
The report said passenger numbers may even be higher than those recorded as “manual button pushing” was used to count passengers.
A independent survey was also conducted for the duration of the service and found that people aged between 16-18 years and 41-60 years were more likely to use the service, 97 per cent of respondents were either “extremely satisfied” or “satisfied” with their trip, and 40 per cent of Noosa respondents said they would use public transport more in the future as a result of the initiative.
The free bus service ran from 14 April to 21 April and included the bus routes 626, 627, 628, 629 and 632, plus additional routes 064 and 065.
