Transport Canberra is shaping the way Canberrans move through the development of a better transport network. We’re linking light rail, active travel and our bus network to reduce congestion and enhance our city. We are also building light rail to Woden.
Our job is to provide a transport system for Canberra that is:
integratedconvenientreliableefficientsustainablesafeaccessible for all Strategies, policies and plans
ACT Transport Strategy
The ACT Transport Strategy (PDF 8.2 MB) sets out the Government's approach to achieving our vision and provides a framework for planning and investing in transport for the next 20 years.
Zero-Emission Transition Plan for Transport Canberra
The Zero-Emission Transition Plan for Transport Canberra 2024 Refresh (PDF 12.4 MB) outlines the pathway to achieve the ACT Government’s ambition of a zero-emission public transport system by 2040.
The original Zero-Emission Transition Plan (PDF 18.5 MB) was released in 2020. This refresh of the Plan demonstrates our continued commitment, presents our progress towards achieving our targets and identifies key actions for next 5 years.
Our journey to zero-emission public transport started with the introduction of light rail to Canberra which has seen 20% of public transport trips powered by 100% renewable electricity and continues in earnest to tackle the emissions produced by buses currently powered by fossil fuels.
With this refreshed Plan the ACT Government continues to take a nation-leading approach to transitioning our city’s bus fleet to zero-emissions, including the infrastructure, investment and skills needed to make the transition operationally successful.
Active Travel Plan and Design Guide
The ACT’s Active Travel Plan outlines ways to make it safer, more accessible, convenient and enjoyable to walk or ride. It looks at how Canberrans travel now and identifies projects and initiatives to strengthen active travel in the future. The Design Guide has been created to complement the Active Travel Plan to set the design vision for creating safe, people-friendly streets that support all modes of transport. For more information see active travel planning.
Public transport performance
Transport Canberra releases a range of data on the performance of bus and light rail services which is available on the ACT Government open data portal.
Transport Canberra is committed to ensuring public transport data remains as accessible and transparent as possible while we work with our service provider to restore reporting on the ACT Open Data Portal. During this period, the data is being temporarily published on the Transport Canberra website and will be transitioned back to the Open Data Portal once restoration activities have been completed and the platform is ready to resume publication.
Transport Canberra monthly boarding transactions
Transaction data is a record of fare transaction activity rather than finalised passenger boarding records, capturing only valid fare transactions where a passenger successfully taps on when boarding. As a result, it does not include boardings associated with fare evasion or system/validator outages. Figures derived from this dataset are therefore transaction-based and may differ slightly from future patronage reporting due to vendor processing activities such as data cleansing, filtering, and the treatment of exceptional transactions.
Time period | Bus | Light rail | Total tap-on transactions |
|---|
July 2025 | 1,029,090 | 249,937 | 1,279,027 |
|---|
August 2025 | 1,120,138 | 248,981 | 1,369,119 |
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September 2025 | 1,041,481 | 246,280 | 1,287,761 |
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October 2025 | 1,000,871 | 236,356 | 1,237,227 |
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November 2025 | 949,595 | 213,954 | 1,163,549 |
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December 2025 | 806,176 | 199,647 | 1,005,823 |
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January 2026 | 845,654 | 117,994 | 963,648 |
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February 2026 | 1,172,865 | 232,386 | 1,405,251 |
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March 2026 | 1,393,909 | 303,761 | 1,697,670 |
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April 2026 | 1,186,740 | 275,542 | 1,462,282 |
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May 2026 | 1,353,023 | 284,298 | 1,637,321 |
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June 2026 | 1,171,635 | 251,928 | 1,423,563 |
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Total | 1,029,090 | 249,937 | 15,932,241 |
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- Passenger boardings on light rail replacement bus services operated by external providers are not captured in this dataset, there were no light rail boardings recorded from 12 to 23 January 2026 due to light rail replacement bus services operating at this time.
- Fare-free initiatives delivered as cost‑of‑living measures, including Fare‑Free Friday, reduced the incentive for passengers to tap on when travel was free, resulting in lower recorded boardings.
- This dataset contains monthly bus and light rail boardings based on transactions recognised by a fare validator. Boardings where passengers do not tap on, or where a transaction cannot be validated, are not captured in this data set.
Monthly fare cap
Time period | Number of passengers who reached monthly fare cap limit |
|---|
July 2025 | 1,049 |
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August 2025 | 1,077 |
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September 2025 | 878 |
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October 2025 | 741 |
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November 2025 | 730 |
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December 2025 | 598 |
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January 2026 | 1,039 |
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February 2026 | 2,381 |
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March 2026 | 4,673 |
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April 2026 | 15,720 |
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May 2026 | 18,409 |
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June 2026 | N/A |
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Total | Not available as of 17 July 2026 |
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- Fare cap reduction commenced on 8 April 2026 and operated until June 30 2026. Find out more about the reduced fare caps.
- Number of passengers who reached the monthly fare cap limit is currently only available up to 27 May 2026.
Light rail business case
The following business cases were prepared for light rail stages 1 and 2A.
Building an Integrated Transport Network – Freight
The bulk of freight in the ACT is handled by the private sector, but the ACT Government ensures the supporting infrastructure, such as roads and land availability, is as reliable, efficient and as strategically located as possible. View the Freight Strategy (PDF 9.8 MB) and Snapshot (PDF 3.2 MB).
Express light rail services to Woden
For information on the the feasibility of introducing express services to Woden please read the Express light rail services to Woden report (PDF 1.6 MB).
Household travel survey
View the ACT and Queanbeyan-Palerang household travel survey of daily travel patterns.
