Melbourne tram passenger loading by route

The Age has published details of tram passenger loading by route over the period from Jan 2019 to June 2025, based on data from the Victorian Department of Transport.

If you have access to The Age on line, you will find the article at:

• https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/standing-room-only-melbourne-s-busiest-tram-routes-revealed-20260211-p5o1hi.html

I have attached a screen capture copy of the graphic used to illustrate the data.

Red indicates a loading of up to  1.7 million monthly passengers on the route and dark blue represents monthly loading of below 17,500.

If one pauses the mouse pointer over a cell you can see the actual figure, as shown in the screen capture.

I can't locate the original data, but I transcribed the figures for June 2019 (pre COVID) and June 2025 (most recent in the table) and attach the results.

The article says: 

Tram patronage numbers are calculated by counting the number of people who board a tram service and touch on their myki card. 

This is then cross-referenced with Automatic Vehicle Monitoring data to provide a final estimate.

AVM does not measure passenger numbers, just tram location.

Some highlights:

• Overall loading in June 2025 was still only 76% of the pre COVID loading in June 2019. (139M vs 182M on an annualised estimate)
• The busiest route (96) carried 10 times as many passengers as each of the two lightest loading routes (78 and 82)
• The two most resilient routes in terms of loading recovery are 86 (Bundoora) and 5 (Malvern - Burke Rd)

A lot of this change will be due to increased numbers of people working from home.

There is no data yet to show the effect of the opening of the Metro tunnel.

Mal Rowe who thinks some of the figures may be influenced by passengers not 'tapping on'

Queensway then and now

The reconstruction of St Kilda Junction and related creation of
Queensway in the late 1960s was one of the key indicators that
Melbournbe's trams were "here to stay".

Arthur Stone's pic from September 1968 shows the new tramway being laid.

In my pic made today - 58 years on - a few buildings are still
recognisable.  The big brown brick building at top left is the Windsor
telephone exchange built in the 1970s.

Mal Rowe for whom the Tatra T3s were the other signs of hope.

180 and B60

The attached photo by Arthur Stone suffers a bit from being a night
shot, but has plenty of interest.

T180 is sitting at the Bourke St tram terminus in 1967 and the model of
VR loco B 60 is on display at Spencer St station in the background.

Mal Rowe - enjoying discovering old slides

Re: [TramsDownUnder] Yapper and half Yapper

On 09/02/2026 22:47, Andrew Highriser wrote:
> Back in service to assist with the tram shortage after the 1980s?,
> maybe 90s floods.
>
The pic dates from 1964, when the Y and Y1 trams were still in regular
service, although the occasion was a fan trip.

Here's my pis of 611 running in Batman Ave to Wattle Park around the
same time.

In 1965 the Y and Y1s were transferred to Glenhuntly depot where the
union quickly banned them out of concern that they could be operated one
man.

They were withdrawn after only a short time running from GH and later
used fro driver training.

Mal Rowe - rather fond of Yappers

Yapper and half Yapper

As I mentioned recently, I have been scanning some slides by Arthur Stone.

This one dates from over 60 years ago and shows a TMSV tour using Y1 610
and X2 676.

Thanks Arthur!

Mal Rowe - who had a ride in each but never on a single tour.

A year of living dangerously

I am scanning a large box of slides given to me by Arthur Stone who I
met in my early days of being a TMSV member.

The attached pic caught my attention.  It looks south along Kingsway.

Even in the days of my youth I would not have been game to climb up on
one of the King St Bridge ramps to make this photo!

Thanks Arthur!

Mal Rowe - still alive and still careful

Lights and sirens

Melbourne's reserved tramways are for trams only ... and for emergency
vehicles.

It's common for police, fire and ambulance vehicles to get past traffic
jams by using the tram tracks.

Tram drivers are trained to give them priority and ensure they get
through safely.

Mal Rowe who was in the right place to capture such an event this morning