The smallest bus on the South East Queensland TransLink fleet is punching above its weight when it comes to passenger numbers.
Springfield's iconic 18-seat Hino Poncho bus running on route 533 (Spring Mountain Loop) is carrying more passengers now than it did the same time last year prior to the declaration of the pandemic.
Head of TransLink Matt Longland said late January marked one year since Poncho's inaugural run on the newly created route 533, with comparative year-to year data now available for the first time.
"Poncho patronage jumped more than 30 per cent for the first few weeks of comparative patronage results compared with the same time last year," Mr Longland said.
"For a bus route to experience greater passenger numbers now compared with a pre-pandemic period is a great result."
Matt Longland said the bus serviced a growing area and this is reflected in the passenger numbers.
"Even though the service started during a challenging year for public transport due to the impact of the pandemic declaration and lock-down, route 533 is now averaging nearly 100 trips a day during weekdays.
"The new route, run by Bus Queensland, was designed to connect residents of the rapidly-growing Spring Mountain area to other bus services at Orion Springfield Central and Springfield Central station.
"The route's popularity reflected the continued growth in the area and we anticipate Poncho will continue to be a popular service for residents," he said.
The Poncho bus has state-of-the-art safety and comfort features, including ABS, three emergency exit points and a large 850mm sliding door featuring touch sensitive technology for added safety.
Visit the TransLink website for more information on the Springfield bus network.