The Edinburgh Trams service has carried almost 3.6m passengers so far in 2015 with 1.55m using the service between 31st May 2015 and 4th September. 50,000 more than over the same period last year.

The busiest week so far this year, and the busiest week ever, was week ending 15th August when the service carried 137,000 passengers. The busiest day was Saturday 29th August with 23,000 passengers.

The numbers are even more impressive given that there was only one event at Murrayfield during the three months being compared. Last year two European Champions League games were held along with the One Direction Concert and an extremely busy launch week.

Transport Convener and Chair of Transport for Edinburgh Lesley Hinds said:
“With 4.92 million passengers in year one and more than 1.55 million since the end of May, Edinburgh Trams is clearly in a good place. It’s still relatively early days so we’re not complacent, but having seen the energy, enthusiasm and dedication of the team first hand I’m confident that the service will continue to go from strength to strength.

“As we develop proposals for the possible extension it’s good to be in this position, knowing that we’re carrying a consistently high volume of satisfied passengers.”

Ian Craig, Chief Executive of Transport for Edinburgh, said:
“These numbers are extremely encouraging and, when taken along with high rates of passenger satisfaction, it’s something everyone involved can take pride in. Our focus has been on ensuring the highest levels of customer service and reliability and I’m confident that our passengers enjoy the service we provide. It’s for the Council press on with the development of proposals for extension but we know our passengers are happy and that they want to see more.”

Patronage figures are currently ahead of predictions set out in the business model which was developed before operations began.

Annual accounts for 2014 show that the service generated revenue of £6.4 million in its first seven months of operation, around 3% higher than projected. In the financial year 2014 the service carried nearly three million passengers and during the full first year of service 4.92 million travelled on the trams, around 370,000 ahead of the target set before launch.

Edinburgh Trams received a 95% overall customer satisfaction rating following an independent UK wide survey by Passenger Focus and operated with 99% service reliability. This means that reliability and satisfaction levels are among the top performing public transport operators in the UK. The business has also been shortlisted in the Rail Operator of the Year category at the 2015 National Transport Awards.

Concessionary card holders are currently accounting for 10.9% of passengers which is well within the Council’s budget which was set to ensure that Edinburgh resident card holders get free travel on the tram.