The first working day of 2026 brought significant transport headaches for Canberra residents, with major traffic congestion and severely overcrowded replacement buses greeting commuters heading into the city centre.
Peak Hour Gridlock and Overcrowded Buses
Traffic crawled along key arterial routes, with Northbourne Avenue experiencing particularly severe bumper-to-bumper conditions. The absence of light rail services, suspended for construction, exacerbated the problems. Many of the replacement bus services struggled to cope with demand, leading to widespread frustration among passengers.
Commuters took to social media to describe "cripplingly slow" journeys and late buses. On a public transport discussion page, one passenger reported their bus was standing room only from Well Station Drive, with people forcing their way on at Dickson despite a lack of space. "[The bus] was most certainly overfull by the time it reached civic," the commuter wrote.
Commuters Left Waiting and Walking
Several social media users stated they waited up to 45 minutes for a bus at Dickson, only to see multiple full services pass by without stopping. One commuter noted most people on their bus ended up being late for work. The situation became so dire that some opted to catch an Uber instead.
A particularly stark account came from a comment on a Transport Canberra post, which claimed only three passengers were allowed to board a bus at the Ipima Street stop between 8.30am and 9.10am. "A family planning to go to the airport was in tears. Many people began walking, having given up hope for replacement buses," the user reported.
Construction Blitz and Official Response
The disruption stems from a nearly two-week suspension of light rail services across nine stops between Alinga Street and Sandford Street in Mitchell. The shutdown, which began on the morning of Monday, January 12, will continue until the evening of Friday, January 23.
The works are necessary to connect the existing network to the Stage 2A extension towards Commonwealth Park. Replacement buses were scheduled to run at the normal light rail frequency or better between Alinga and Sandford streets, continuing to Well Station Drive.
An ACT government spokesperson confirmed Transport Canberra, Canberra Metro Operations, and CDC Canberra were closely monitoring the first day of rail replacement services. "Delays were observed during the morning and afternoon peak periods which were attributed to congested traffic at bottlenecks along Northbourne Avenue near Swinden Street and Alinga Street," the spokesperson said.
The government defended the timing of the "construction blitz" in January, stating it was chosen to minimise future disruptions later in the year when traffic volumes increase and work on the Commonwealth Avenue Bridge project is fully underway. Commuters are advised to allow extra travel time or consider travelling outside peak periods during this construction phase.
