Newsbot Posted June 5, 2007 Share Posted June 5, 2007 Isle of Man commuters are urged to make the most of the electric tram service as roads are closed over the TT period. Source : http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/...man/6723063.stm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hangfire Posted June 5, 2007 Share Posted June 5, 2007 i currently reside in lonan and i went to use the tram service at the weekend to my horror i found that to go from laxey to the prom was going to cost me £5-60 which i found extortionate!!! plus the last service was at 5-25pm why cant they run this as a commuter service as opposed to a tourist cash cow? last tram is WAY too early to be of any use to people going into town and 5-60 is an insane price to go 6 miles or thereabouts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Wright Posted June 5, 2007 Share Posted June 5, 2007 The story does not make sense The only trams we have are along the prom in Douglas and are horse drawn Are the BBC talking abiout our electric railway? As for the cost why haven't you bought a residents season ticket. If we all did the railways would run at profit, they might put on extra services. Evening trains stopped some years ago due to lack of use and accidents Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhumsaa Posted June 5, 2007 Share Posted June 5, 2007 apparently resident season tickets aren't valid for commuter trams over TT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amadeus Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 Surprise, surprise... Commuter trial fails There are no plans to run more commuter trains into Douglas in the foreseeable future. Tourism and Leisure Minister, Adrian Earnshaw, made the announcement after the steam and electric railway ran services on a trial basis during TT fortnight. The number of passengers using the services, particularly the electric railway, did not make it viable. Critics of the trial cited high ticket prices as the reason for the scheme failing. And although Mr Earnshaw (pictured) says it’s unlikely the trial will be repeated, he's not ruling it out completely: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lectro Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 The number of passengers using it might have been more if it wasn't so expensive. Want to seriously reduce traffic and parking problems in the island? Then make all public transport very very cheap or even free. People who live in Peel, Ramsey, PE, PSM, Castletown are the ones you particularly want to use public transport for commuting. Making it very cheap or free for them to do so makes sense. After giving away our Heathrow slots for free and being made fools of by BA and the Steam Packet, surely the Govt can get right the one thing they have some real control over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryMcCann Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 I still wouldn't use public transport if it was free. I paid a lot of money for my car and no way am I going to leave it at home whilst spending twice the time on a journey on a bus/tram/train. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cambon Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 The number of passengers using it might have been more if it wasn't so expensive. Want to seriously reduce traffic and parking problems in the island? Then make all public transport very very cheap or even free. People who live in Peel, Ramsey, PE, PSM, Castletown are the ones you particularly want to use public transport for commuting. Making it very cheap or free for them to do so makes sense. After giving away our Heathrow slots for free and being made fools of by BA and the Steam Packet, surely the Govt can get right the one thing they have some real control over. I was recently in Bermuda and over the last few years they have radically reduced the price of public transport to the point that it is stupid not to use it. For example, where my brother lives is 12 miles away from work, which is about an hour away including the walk from the car park etc. The commuter ferry takes about the same time but he has to leave home 15 minutes earlier due to ferry times. The ferry costs $2.00 (about £1.00) each way. Compared to the cost of petrol over there (nearly as expensive as here) and parking, taking the ferry is a no-brainer. As an added bonus, they turn a blind eye if you take a beer or two on board. The bus costs the same (i.e. £2.00 regardless of length of jouney). Bermuda has recently seen an upward trend in tourism, and good, cheap public transport is part of the reason. I woud have used the train had it been available on the season ticket, even at a small supplement. However, the whole situation failed because of the cost. The government shot itself in the foot yet again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempus Fugit Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 when I first started work I travelled Dgs-Ramsey by the MER, and it cost £3.15.0 for a 3 months apprentice contract, that's 3/6d a week ! (which was about 1/12th of my wages at the time) How times have changed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lectro Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 I still wouldn't use public transport if it was free. I paid a lot of money for my car and no way am I going to leave it at home whilst spending twice the time on a journey on a bus/tram/train. That's your choice and fair enough. I'm not arguing against that. What I'm saying is the Govt can't complain about the amount of traffic on the roads - especially in and around Douglas - and ask people to use public transport if the public transport is (1) too expensive to be an attractive alternative and (2) doesn't run at times that is convenient to the public. Personally I'd rather spend the money that they use to re-surface the mountain road every 10 minutes to upgrade the tracks to allow proper commuter trains and have a proper public transport infrastructure by joining all the various parts up properly. But that's just me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lonan3 Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 (which was about 1/12th of my wages at the time) How times have changed So 1/12th of your weekly wage - assuming it's £360 per week, for example - would be £30. Maybe things haven't changed all that much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Tatlock Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 I'd bet no more than 20 people use the steam train to get to work during the TT. er...cough! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lectro Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 Personally I'd rather spend the money that they use to re-surface the mountain road every 10 minutes to upgrade the tracks to allow proper commuter trains and have a proper public transport infrastructure by joining all the various parts up properly. But that's just me... Problem is that the tram ends in Onchan and most people work in Douglas. If its pissing down you've got to walk the best part of a mile and a half into town. Nobody is going to do that unless they are completely mental. You need to completely redesign the prom before you can even consider commuter trams. "have a proper public transport infrastructure by joining all the various parts up properly" You don't need to redesign the Prom. Just timetable a bus to pick up when the trams arrive - joined-up transport! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempus Fugit Posted June 30, 2007 Share Posted June 30, 2007 we'd better rip up all the new paving on the north quay to extend the railway down to the sea terminal and along the prom then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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