Saturday marks four years since Newcastle's light rail service got up-and-running, however, rather than celebrating, there's been calls to improve the service's operations.
Opal data shows public transport patronage in the city has dropped to barley half of what is was before the pandemic, going from 103,000 passengers in 2019, to 61,500 in 2022.
Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp, attributed the lack of passengers to a poor business plan, and said the transport route isn't affective in its current state.
The service has struggled to increase patronage numbers to pre-COVID levels, prompting calls to make trips free across the city.
In their recently-announced Transport Plan for Newcastle, The NSW Greens committed to the idea, saying they will eliminate fees if they form government next month.
There's also been calls to extend the service across Newcastle to McDonald Jones Stadium, as the venue continues to book more international sports and music events.
Tim Crakanthorp said, while State Labor has not considered making the it free, they would work to preserve and extend the network.
"If we get elected, we'll give Transport for NSW a real hurry-on to get these transport corridors preserved. That allows us to free-up access points to Hunter Park."
