Pay parking in the parliamentary triangle is boosting patronage on Canberra's maligned bus network, with new figures showing about 8,600 more passenger numbers each week since the scheme began.
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Figures provided by the Territory and Municipal Services directorate show weekly passenger movements in the area averaged 18,022 in August last year, before the October introduction of pay parking.
The numbers record passengers getting on and off buses at stops inside the triangle.
Passenger numbers grew to a weekly average of 19,184 in September 2014, after the introduction of new timetables and routes as part of the Network 14 plan.
A further rise was recorded after pay parking began in the area on October 1, seeing averages reach 24,949 in October and November.
After a seasonal downturn in December and January, average weekly passenger movements reached 26,680 in late February and the first week of March.
The rise in passenger movements comes as motorists paid $3.6 million in fees and fines in the first three months of the new scheme, despite the number of parked cars in the area dropping by about a quarter.
More than 4600 parking fines have been issued in the triangle, representing an average of 74 drivers being fined each work day.
A spokesman for Territory and Municipal Services said the new average passenger numbers were 8,658 above figures recorded in the final month of the old Network 12 timetables.
The figures could be understated as they don't record where passengers using paper tickets get off.
Last month's National Multicultural Festival weekend saw 44,303 boardings on ACTION services, an increase of more than 3600 in the same period last year.
Special free services to and from four park and ride facilities during the festival attracted 2200 passengers from Exhibition Park, Kippax, Calwell and Kambah.
A special $5 late night service on Saturday February 14 recorded 206 boardings.
ACTION buses also proved a popular mode of transport to last weekend's Royal Canberra Show.
On Saturday 23,723 people took ACTION to Exhibition Park, followed by 14,327 on Sunday.
More than 2000 passengers used dedicated services to the show, helping boost average weekend services by about 8,000 passengers.
Last month, half-yearly reports to the ACT Legislative Assembly showed ACTION recorded 400,000 fewer passenger boardings than expected since the start of the 2014-15 financial year.
Despite pay parking, ACTION recorded 8.9 million passenger boardings, well below the 9.3 million target for the halfway point of the financial year.
The ACT Government expects ACTION will record 18.5 million boardings by June.
