The trial began on January 27 and will run through to July 31 and involves a city circle bus making 10-minute runs to 10 stops down Sturt Street and around Bridge Mall.

PTV data records that about 19,000 people have taken the service since its inception, at an average of about 1000 per week at the time of its release.

City of Ballarat was contacted for the numbers last week, but did not provide details.

While data will still be recorded for the remainder of the month, initial figures suggest that the service has only been used sparingly by Ballarat commuters.

Under the premise that the bus makes six 10-minute trips per hour, for a total of 60 per day and 420 per week – an average of just over two people board the service per trip.

That equates to around 145 people using the service per day – less than three full 48-seat buses.

However, a PTV spokesperson said the number of stops may vary each day, depending on the number of passengers, where they wish to stop and the daily traffic conditions.

The service runs from 8am to 6pm seven days per week.

Results are only preliminary, with more accurate data to be released at the conclusion of the trial.

“At the conclusion of the trial, the City of Ballarat will evaluate the patronage of the service and consider how best to go forward,” a PTV spokesperson said.

City of Ballarat acting general manager (of) city strategy Jeff Johnson said the trial had been delivered on budget when contacted by The Courier.

“The trial was delivered on budget, with $150,000 from the City of Ballarat and a $50,000 grant from the state government’s transport investing in regions initiative,” Mr Johnson said.

“The City of Ballarat is collecting data and feedback on the service during the trial. This information will collated at the completion of the trial and reported back to the state government and Public Transport Victoria.