The average number of passengers catching public transport on Saturdays in Canberra is up by nearly 10 per cent compared to pre-pandemic levels.
The average number of Sunday public travellers has increased by more than 5.5 per cent, despite no expansion of services.
Extra bus services will be added to Canberra's Saturday timetable from next weekend but no increases have been made to Sunday services.
About 17,180 Saturday boardings were made on public transport in the second half of 2019, before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and a steep decline in patronage.
The average number of Saturday boardings in the past six months has been about 18,856 passengers, an increase of 9.75 per cent on the pre-pandemic figures.
Saturday light rail boardings have grown by 5.75 per cent, with an average 8292 light rail boardings making up just under 44 per cent of all Saturday public transport travel.
Transport Canberra this week cited increased Saturday patronage as a reason to boost the bus timetable.
Sunday boardings have grown by 5.64 per cent, up to an average of about 13,833 passengers. Sunday light rail boardings have grown by 6.05 per cent to 5992 passengers; light rail boardings account for 43.15 per cent of all Sunday trips.
Public Transport Association of Canberra chair Ryan Hemsley said Transport Canberra needed to further improve the service quality of buses to match light rail's high performance.
Transport officials should also consider increasing light rail frequencies on Friday nights, Saturdays and Sundays to meet demand, he said.
"These passenger figures prove that Canberrans are keen to use public transport on weekends when it is frequent, convenient, and reliable," Mr Hemsley said.
"On these fronts, light rail has a clear advantage over our bus network, and it's no surprise to see that reflected in the patronage data."
Transport Canberra this week announced an extra 331 bus services would run on Saturdays from April 6.
Rapid buses will still run every 15 to 30 minutes across the weekend, while the light rail timetable also remains unchanged.
The Sunday timetable also remains unchanged.
Transport Canberra and City Services acting Director-General Ben McHugh said a recruitment drive and an agreement to trial new weekend reliability provisions had allowed transport officials to boost the timetable.
Mr McHugh also noted a "significant increase" in passengers using weekend public transport services.
