SEATTLE -- After less than a week into the operation of Seattle’s new streetcars, city leaders said ridership has far exceeded their expectations, reported KIRO 7 Eyewitness News.

The city’s original expectation was that 900 people would ride the trolleys each day, but so far an average of 6,000 riders have been using the new service.

Though Seattle Mayor Gregg Nickels said the high numbers could be due to the free fares that will last through December, Nickels said he is optimistic that people will continue to use the trolleys even after the fares will change to $1.50.

On the first day of operations, 8,400 people road the rails with steady ridership continuing.

On Monday, 2,100 people took advantage of the free rides with a total of 31,903 riders in five days.

Officials said that if the numbers continue to average 6,000 riders a day it would equate to over 2.3 million passengers in a year.

The city said it realistically hopes to get 330,000 riders a year.

The mayor said the trolleys’ early success bodes well of the possibility of the streetcars branching out into other Seattle neighborhoods.