The Luas light rail service carried over 7.2 million passengers last year and is now carrying almost as many passengers as the Dart service.
Six and a half million passengers were carried during commercial operations and a further 700,000 people availed of the free travel periods.
The service carried an average of 50,000 weekday passengers per day before Christmas, and this figure has now increased to daily average of between 55,000 and 60,000 per day.
Dublin Bus has suffered a drop in passenger numbers, however, with 10,000 fewer customers every day cited as a main cause for an increase in fares announced in December.
Mr Frank Allen, Railway Procurement Agency Chief Executive
Despite the shift to Luas of so many former bus users, the vast majority of Luas users are understood to be motorists and new public transport users.
Luas operators expect this trend to continue when the proposed network of feeder buses to Luas interchanges is introduced.
The number of trams on the Luas line from Tallaght to Connolly Station was increased by 30 per cent in December to allow it to carry another 10,000 passengers each day.
It is predicted that Luas will carry 20 million passengers in 2005 which will put it ahead of its targets for that period.
"I am delighted with these figures" said Railway Procurement Agency Chief Executive Frank Allen. "Luas is part of the integrated solution and will continue to contribute significantly to increase the options for motorists."
