Small businesses in Fleetwood are claiming that the recent decision to cease accepting concessionary travel passes from Wyre residents on the Blackpool tramway has harmed their profits, to the extent that their long-term viability is now under threat. Just over two months after the changes were introduced, meaning that Blackpool residents with the pass can travel free by tram but residents of Fleetwood and Cleveleys must pay full price, and local traders say they are feeling the pinch as a result of less elderly people travelling by tram.
Although pass holders can still travel free on the parallel Line 1 promenade bus service, it is feared that many have simply stopped travelling altogether as they refuse to use the buses, or pay to make their journeys by tram. Suggestions to introduce a lower fare for pass holders in local towns who fall outside of the Blackpool boundary have fallen on deaf ears, whilst none of the local authorities are willing to subsidise the substantial costs of restoring the free travel offer. Blackpool Transport, understandably, cannot afford to offer this unless they are compensated in part for the lost revenue, and so the present situation seems unlikely to change for the forseeable future in spite of the many complaints.
Wyre Council leader Peter Gibson has reportedly dimissed an offer from County Hall to share the cost of reintroducing the acceptance of NoW Cards on the tramway, stating that he believes Blackpool Council should foot the bill themselves. In return, Blackpool Council representatives claim that passengers have simply transferred their custom to buses – something which Derek Eaton of the Fleetwood Chamber of Trade does not believe. He claims that the spring has witnessed “the worst trading I have ever known, including when the tram tracks were dug up”, and has said “it must be affecting traders in Blackpool too because nobody is going from Fleetwood to Blackpool. The trams are just running empty. Wyre Council has got its hands tied because it is not a transport authority but we have got an economic crisis facing us.” He also claims that Blackpool Council have refused to consider allowing pass holders from Fleetwood travel at a flat rate of £1 due to legal restrictions, and that Wyre residents “already contribute so much to the LCC coffers that it would be unfair to pay twice”.
David Borrow, the Deputy Leader of Lancashire County Council, says: “us putting money forward actually means council tax payers from the rest of Lancashire would be paying so Wyre residents can use the trams”, using this as the reason not to go ahead with what is being asked of them.
However, some of what councillors and traders are saying is denied by representatives of Blackpool Council, with Councillor John Jones, representing Highways & Transport, telling the local press that tram patronage has fallen by just 1% whilst bus passengers have shown a massive increase. He added; “All in all, 28,000 more people used public transport along the seafront route between Starr Gate and Fleetwood in April than during the same period last year.”
“The only change is that individuals are paying for it, and no longer relying on Blackpool Council rate payers to fund each and every journey. If Fleetwood businesses feel that they need help with concessionary travel, then it is down to Lancashire and Wyre Councils to come to a solution with them.”
With such mixed messages being put out it seems highly unlikely that the various parties will reach a decision to change the status quo anytime soon, and therefore the complaints from traders and local residents – justified or not – look set to continue.
A typical daily scene from May 2014 with Flexity 001 - with stickers promoting a current promotion on tram fares - seen at North Pier. How busy these trams are is a hot topic right now and the answer seems to vary depending on who you ask! (Photo by Andrew Waddington)
Leaving aside the arguments about who pays for the ‘free travel’, just think about the logic of this…
Blackpool residents CAN still travel to Fleetwood for free on the trams.
Fleetwood residents can NOT travel to Blackpool for free on the trams.
If that was causing an impact on tram-bourne trade, surely it would be the Fleetwood residents who would not travel to Blackpool and presumably stay local and shop locally, so if anything that should reuslt in an increase in trade in Fleetwood!
I suggest the Chamber of Trade take a long look at themselves and what they offer to entice customers – TBH I couldn’t name a single shop in Fleetwood I would make a special trip or go out of my way to visit. The whole town appears run down and uninviting. If there wasn’t a tramway through the main street I doubt I would ever visit at all…
Your article of the 10th June 2014 does not explain the nub of the problem faced by traders in Fleetwood. It is not that Blackpool residents continue to ride on the trams for free whilst Fylde residents have lost that facility – it is because now only Blackpool residents have that facility and all other ENCTS cardholders have lost it. This means that the many elderly visitors to Blackpool during the summer are not making their traditional tram tour up to Fleetwood depriving the traders there of business. Whlilst there are bus alternatives they are not as old codger friendly as the trams. Having suffered disruption of their passing trade whilst the Fleetwood street running section was rebuilt they are understandably incensed – the onset of the summer season is stoking resentment. With regard to Fylde residents losing the facility it is felt to be unfair in that Lancashire County Council contributed in small part to the re-equipment programme of the new tramway – a view shared by their fellow disenfranchised Lancashire residents. Blackpool is a member of the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership who have a role in allocating transport funds for the whole of Lancashire. They are expected at some stage to seek assistance in funding the Blackpool North tram extension – just how that will play with Fleetwood and other Lancashire residents when they understand the implications remains to be seen.
The whole debate around footfall surely is surely now a dead duck
1% Reduction Using Tram
150 % Increase on the Number 1 bus.
Revenue up as result of the decision and going forward demonstrates concessionary travel can be replaced with well marketed value for money ticketing offers available to ALL ages.
I think you’ve hit the nail on the head there! I briefly worked on the Blackpool Tramway in the late 90s and trams to Fleetwood were generally packed with pensioners, many of whom were making their annual holiday plgrimage to either Fleetwood market or the nice little shops and restaurants in Cleveleys. Of course we didn’t have national free passes at the time, but OAPs did have concessionary fares and OAP concession passes issued in other parts of the country were valid.
I also remember almost everyone (pensioners or not) making ose of the excellent value 1,3,5 and 7 day travelcards that were available for use on any BTS trams and buses at the time.
The problem with the national free passes was explained to me once by a friend who operated a bus service in Norfolk. He had a daily service into a tow in East Anglia, which was operated commercially and was quite successful. However when the free OAP passes came in, his bus arrived at the stop one morning and instead of 50 passengers waiting there were 150! Two duplicate buses were called for and from then on this was the norm.
The problem is the council, who reimburse the company for OAP free passes only have a finite pot of money. 6 months into the 12 month period this pot ran out. My friend was legally requitred to continue the extra service he had registered, but there were no actual fare paying passengers on 2 out of 3 buses and no money to pay for the freebies. So two buses out of three were effectively running empty (even though they were actually full) and generating no revenue! As bus operators have to honour the free passes, the only option to save the company from financial collapse was to totally de-register the whole service and take all the buses off.
It looks like BTS are experiencing similar problems, but because the trams are not legally required to honour free passes outside the local area, they have done the only thing possible in the circumstances by withdrawing the free travel facility.
The sensible option would be to re-introduce half fare passes, which would mean less ‘make up’ for the authorities to top up the costs of the passes and would also discourage pensioners from travelling every day where they only prevously travelled once or twice a week.
Yeah the main issue was when it started the national government paid for it, so regional imbalances would in age/usage would balance out. However the Government has shifted responsibility for paying for it to local councils without providing an equivalent increase in resources. So to finance a legal obligation they have had to rob other transport pots like those used to subsidise non-commercial routes, to provide new services or to enhance commercial frequencies.
I think this is a simple case of “human nature” being what it usually ends up as.
I feel that perhaps Blackpool’s originally very kind and virtually unique offer of funding this “free for all”, was in hindsight, perhaps just a tad misjudged and yes, perhaps unfortunate, as their use possibly did add something to the local economy. This is perhaps especially true, now that a concessionary fare bill of £700, 000 has been presented to a council that has had to recently make huge redundancies and half the time doesn’t know where it’s next tenner is coming from!! What many don’t realise, is that as trams do not come under the remit of the Concessionary Fares Reimbursement Scheme, Blackpool knew that it was never going to get ANY reimbursement for their use. The reason for this apparently, is that technically a tram is classed as being nearer to a train than a bus, so if trams had also been allowed reimbursement when buses were, then it could potentially have been a relatively easy argument to allow all of the millions of our more senior travellers, access to free country wide train travel too, if some “test case” could be brought. Imagine that!!!
So, knowing this, whilst certainly unfortunate that this freebie has had to be sadly withdrawn to most, it is a shame that the “twirlies” ( So named as they usually try to get on before 09.30 and are then told by the bus or tram driver that they are “too early” to use their free pass), don’t look at this as “Oh well, we had a year or two of free travel on the shiny new trams, when we really probably shouldn’t have done” rather than the “Oh my God.. How despicable of these heartless Councillors, picking on us “poor” pensioners again….blah blah blah…). But as I say, sadly, that’s just human nature.
I very much doubt that the termination of this free perk, especially when the original bus alternative method of getting there, is still available, is fully ( or even slightly) responsible for such a down turn in the fortunes for Fleetwood’s traders.
I suspect again it’s human nature being what it is and the failings of Fleetwood’s traders in making their businesses more attractive, are instead being blamed on an easy and popular target, IE the sad but fairly necessary withdrawal of this pass from most tram users.
The negligible reduction of physical tram passengers in the times the pass is usable, points to this being the case. To my mind at least, quite frankly this offer should never have been made in the first place, for just the reason for this article. IE this ridiculous backlash, that certainly to my mind, is neither relevant, nor deserved.
It would have been far easier and calmer for all concerned, if it had simply never been offered in the first place. Sadly, it was and so now we have all this!!
But hey, just jump on the next bus instead. That’s free after all. Wish it was for me!!
As the trams do not come under the CFRS perhaps they should have done the decent thing and ended free tram travel for everybody including Blackpool residents.
It looks like the old problem of unintended consequences. If people who formerly used a concessionary pass now have to pay a fare, some will no longer travel because they feel that buses are less convenient or more uncomfortable and those who do pay to have a better ride will have less money to spend at the other end.