‘We’ve waited so long for this!’ as Bristol trams likely to get council nod

Bristol Live readers are discussing the news that the proposed mass transit system for the greater Bristol area is now being designed to avoid extensive tunnelling, given the high costs involved. Transport planners are re-evaluating the network’s design to find alternatives to going underground. Most commenters are frustrated with the long delays in finalising a mass transit plan and have been expressing their views both here in our comments section and over on our Facebook page.

On July 26, it is expected that three council heads and the West of England metro mayor Dan Norris will give approval to progress with the plans. By September, a comprehensive report detailing potential routes, made possible by a multi-billion pound investment in public transportation, will be presented.

The debate among Bristol’s politicians over the introduction of an underground rail service, once advocated by former Labour mayor Marvin Rees, or a tram system, now preferred by the Green Party, which recently took over the Bristol City Council, has been long ongoing. With Mr Rees out of office, the likelihood of adopting a tram system appears to have increased.

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Commenter Sim12345 thinks: “Hydrogen buses would be better. Stop wasting money on ideas that don’t work. In 10 years, driverless electric taxis we’ll be a part of Bristol taking people where they need to go. So what’s the point in wasting so much money when it’s going to come naturally by the private sector.”

Matt242 replies: “Hydrogen has a lot of promise but sadly doesn’t work. At the moment Hydrogen is made from oil. It’s also a very difficult gas to store. We know trams work. They are cheap to install and quick. And we have been waiting sooo long for this…”

Marc101 agrees: “Trams do work and work much better than buses and taxis. Trams are not a waste of money.”

Junius 1 thinks: “Alternatives to an underground should have been explored way back in 2017, If this had been the case, things would be well progressed by now and the West of England would have benefitted from a mass transit central funding pot. Mass transit should result in faster, cleaner and more convenient travel throughout the city, significantly cutting the need for car journeys.”

Katiem writes: “Trams will force cars off roads that are not wide enough for both. I am not sure why a good bus system does not fill the void.”

Marc101 points out: “Basically cities that have trams will attract people out of cars in a way buses do not. This has been shown across Europe. Trams have some 3 to 5 times the capacity of buses, do not get held up in traffic (Tramwave system), only stop for seconds to let passengers on and off, zero pollution both for the motor and rolling surface. Issue is the upfront cost and disruption to lay all the infrastructure.”

Bbski writes: “Stop spending money on these surveys! We seem to be spending a fortune on bus lanes and bike lanes that don’t seem to work. Let’s look at the vehicles that we drive, most are huge due to the ‘crash protection’ and far too powerful, who needs 0 to 60 in 5 secs, tax them out of existence!”

Ian Parsons agrees: “If the council had saved all the money they had spent on useless feasibility studies over the years they would have been enough to pay for a mass transport system five times over.”

Grockel adds: “Manchester, Nottingham and Sheffield cracked on with it and have had trams/trolleybuses in operation for over 15 years whilst in Bristol it is more feasibility studies.”

Dis1954 asks: “Multi-billion-pound system, undoubtedly, but where is the money coming from? Certainly not from the government, it will be private finance who will demand huge security and very large interest rates. London does not even break even on the cost of the tube and tram links and they have probably a hundred times the passenger numbers, not going to happen.”

Dizzy1 says: “It’s strange how many things that were done in the past that were decommissioned and destroyed are now making a return. We had a mass transit system once before many years ago, maybe they should have left it running back then.”

Over on our Facebook page Michael Shaw likes the plan: “Good plan, one route can connect the centre, Temple Meads and the airport.”

Richard James adds: “How long does it take to get the message across that a Tram system is the most effective and cheapest option ??!!!!! Money wasted by Bristol City Council on useless alternatives over the last 40 or so years (including the “underground”).”

What do you think is the most effective solution to Bristol’s mass transit plan? Would you like to see trams in the city? have your say in our comments section.