No more chaos vow

TRANSPORT bosses have promised the chaos of last Wednesday’s opening ceremony will not be repeated at the closing ceremony on Sunday. Transport Minister Mark Bailey said improved transport co-ordination during athletics events at Carrara Stadium saw the venue cleared in “under one hour”.

“There have been changes made to drop off and pick up and it’s fair to say we’re getting better and better at co-ordinating that,” he said.

Minister Bailey praised the transport network for coping well with unprecedented passenger volumes since Wednesday’s false start.

The G:link service has carried nearly 100,000 passengers a day since Thursday, more than three times the daily average since the opening of Gold Coast light rail stage 2.

Prior to the Games the highest number of daily passengers on the light rail network was 80,000, which occurred on the opening day of the light rail system in July 2014.

More than one million trips have been taken to and from Games venues since the opening ceremony last week.

GoldLinQ chairman John Witheriff said the increase in passenger numbers demonstrated how well equipped light rail was to cater for increasing demand in years to come. “Public transport is a critical part of the Gold Coast’s future success,” he said.

Light rail services have been operating 24 hours a day during the Games, with services running every six minutes during peak event periods.