More than 40 million journeys a year are now being made on Manchester Metrolink according to the latest figures released by Transport for Greater Manchester. This is an increase of more than four million in the year to September 2017 – which works out an 11% rise.
The increase in passenger journeys has coincided with the opening of the Second City Crossing (in early 2017) which completed the Big Bang expansion of Manchester Metrolink and allows extra services to run through Manchester City Centre as well as providing flexibility during times of disruption.
Danny Vaughan, TfGM Head of Metrolink, commented: “Since the new line through the city centre opened in February the number of people using Metrolink has shot up. It’s no coincidence that we’ve seen continued growth in line with our investment in the network. We now run more trams to more places, connecting more people than ever before with jobs, training, retail and leisure opportunities. The quality of service on offer has also played a key role in this success with the latest passenger satisfaction survey showing that 90% of our customers are happy with their journeys. I’m in no doubt that the number of people who use the network will continue to rise as we continue to improve and the network grows even further.”
Manchester Metrolink has firmly established itself as the UK’s largest on street tramway network and reaching 40 million passenger journeys shows how it has become a vital part of Greater Manchester’s transport network over the past 25 years. With the next extension to Trafford Park now started it shouldn’t end here either!
* The proposed fare changes as reported last week were agreed (as expected) at the TfGM Committee meeting. This means that from January fares will increase by an average of 5.93%.