[BBC News] Tram track upgrade plan proposed

[cheeky boy]

I like using my car, the trams are far to slow to be of any use for people getting to work and home again. Trams are ok if you have plenty of time on a sunny day to meander and to enjoy the views, sadly most people haven't got the time in there busy schedule to take time out and ride the trams.

I therefore vote that they're a burden on the tax payer and should be scrapped. Then you can take the scrap to the scrap man and make some money instead of them costing money.

 

 

The MERS plan was to upgrade the track and run Light rail cars made by Bombadier in Canada. This would give a Ramsey to Douglas time of under an hour. Time to look at the fabulous scenery, read a paper, use your laptop or shout inane claptrap into your mobile.

 

It must take nearly an hour to drive that route at the moment depending on how close to the permanant traffic jam that is the Banks Circus roundabout you have to get.

 

You could probably upgrade the Steam Railway as well for what the DOT spent on white paint and giant road signs this year.

[StuartT]

I notice you make little mention of the relative sucess of the experiment upon the steam railways, where there was larger numbers of passengers carried

 

Yes. An average of TWELVE to SIXTEEN a day against ONE to THREE on the MER. I'd hardly be doing somersaults on this evidence. Particularly as many using the Port Erin run were train buffs who were just looking for the excuse to use the train and drove from all parts of the island.

 

Re the aparthied systems, the fines could always be means tested - ie make it more unaffordable for those with a greater disposable income....

 

I'm sorry but your eastern european philosophy is misguided. Means testing public transport is a non starter as it just means that those who can afford to will use their cars.

 

As for congestion fines being unpopular, I've heard large numbers of people actually espousing them, along with the notion that if public transport was cheaper and more convenient they'd use it. Lots of politicians make unpopular decisions, however when those unpopular decisions prove over the longterm to be the correct ones it does not lose them the support of the voting public.

 

Yes. Cheaper and more convienient. As per my original post - on an Island where you don't drive far and your annual mileage is low nothing is cheaper or more convienient than your own car. That is an inescapable fact. As the pricing of the commuter trains and trams proved - nobody pays for the privilige of taking a journey slower than they can do in their car, for more money than they would spend on petrol.

 

That's the point, you are missing, you make it cheaper and more convenient to use the railways and less convenient to use cars. Tell me what are you doing when Oil runs out???

 

You have obviously confused something I said - I was not talking about means testing public transport, I was talking about means testing fines - ie that you make it as equally prohibitive to use cars for someone with greater means as you do for someone who has lesser means - in short by slapping on congestion charges which increase according to a persons income. You also make it less convenient to use the cars - ie illiminating parking spaces, narrower roads, etc...

 

And I think you have your stats wrong as it was reported as an average of 20 people using the steam train to get to work, not an average of 12 - 16. That's 20 people who without incentive used the train to commute. You've more than made up the staff's wages, already, and that's without offering incentives such as cheaper costs of commuting and disincentives to use the cars.

[Dalton]

I vote scrap the steam trains as well.