Passenger journeys on light rail systems in England have risen by 5.6 per cent in the past year.
Almost 240 million passenger journeys were made last year, with Docklands Light Railway, Tyne and Wear Metro, and Manchester Metrolink recording the biggest increases.
Passenger satisfaction levels were at 90 per cent.
Transport Minister Andrew Jones said: “Good local transport makes it easier for people to get to work and see their family and friends.
“The fact that passenger numbers on tram and light rail are at record levels shows our investment has been worthwhile.”
It would be handy to know how much the network has grown by over the past year – we’ve had new openings on the Manchester Metrolink and the new Edinburgh Tram in particular – if that has increased the overall network by 5.6%, then a 5.6% rise in passengers is not that surprising. I believe the Edinburgh Tram shift about 500,000 people a month (6m a year as it opened a year ago) – so this alone is about 2.5% of increase. Still good news, but not quite the same news as one might be led to believe from the article. And could we have a link to the source stats?
All the statistics you could wish for here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/light-rail-and-tram-statistics-england-year-ending-march-2015
Thanks – interesting to see that the stats relate solely to England, and not the UK as a whole.
Excellent news! If we build modern, efficient, safe, comfortable, non-polluting light rail systems, people will ride them! These is nothing so disgusting and uncomfortable than riding a “washing machine” bus.