Wednesdauy Variety

Sadly, the indefatigable optimism of Bob is often less than apparent when cities decided to “go tram”.

… to Peckham and Brixton?

It died a quick death after being lodged in the “all too difficult” part of the filing cabinet.

Having emigrated to the Isle of Wight from Sheffield, fbb well remembers hearing the horror stories of the building of the Supertram. West Street (future street running) completely closed …

… High Street (the main bus stops in the centre) with seemingly eternal disruption …

… and the huge Park Square roundabout a total mess.

Sheffield folk became utterly fed up with the tram!

So how would Bristol react if the Metrobus routes were turned into tram routes as a precursor to re-tramming the city throughout?

Badly!!!!

What a big tram project needs is (in order of importance; perhaps?)

The chances of getting even one of these is slim – but all four …

The first two (external funding and full local political support) really go together. If the vast expense is not going to be a burden on the council tax payer there is no real reason for the councillors to object.

Some will, of course, object as a matter of political principle.

Support from the passenger and potential passenger is all about aspirational service and cheap fares. 

In Europe, cheap fares are very much a normality. In Angers, for example, …

… a single ticket with an Oyster Card equivalent is less than £1.50. This allows you to travel “for one hour”. The hour lasts from touch in/tap on/ping the thing until the final touch/tap/ping which can be 60 minutes after the first. So in Angers you could be riding for one hour plus the length of the final journey you have tapped/touched/pinged.

The current UK £2 fare is not cheap enough. In Taunton, local fares have been reduced to £1 and passenger numbers have increased by 26%. 

QED

Getting support from city traders who see their customers deserting them in favour of out-of-town shopping “Malls” is harder to achieve, but free rates during the tram build would help!

So, here follows a virtual drive round part of the city centre circle today showing how trams could be made to fit in. Please note that Mayor Marvin’s marvellous plan has altered layouts on some of these roads since the Streets were Viewed. But this alteration should make plonking in some tram track easier.

… which isn’t the centre of anywhere.

First there was the River Frome …

… which was filled in and popped into a culvert and it is still in its pipe today!

Then it became “The Tramway Centre” …

… and then an oval-about with car park in the middle. 

Then the car park became a garden …

… and now, extended still further over the river, it has become two parallel roads with “stuff” in between. 

At the northern end of the right hand road, the Metrobus routes stop …

… in both directions. (C1 and C2, square blobs).

From here the is a substantial oodle of bus laneage …

… and so on into two one way streets where stops B1 and B2 are located …

… also with laybys and bus lanes a-plenty.