Supertram breaks passenger number records

Sunday 6th July was a record breaking day for Stagecoach Supertram with almost 70,000 passenger journeys recorded as the crowds flocked to Sheffield for stage 2 of the 2014 Tour de France. Of these journeys approximately 35,000 were made in a three hour period from 1630 until 1930; after the end of the race.

Margaret Kay, Managing Director of Supertram, commented: “Sheffield was an amazing place to be on Sunday, with an incredible atmosphere and everyone who used our services did so with a brilliant attitude. We had no incidents and I’m proud to say that even when faced with unprecedented numbers of passengers, our staff worked hard to get everyone to their final destinations as safely and quickly as possible. Our services were very busy and we would like to thank customers for their patience and good humour throughout the day. I’d also like to extend my thanks to staff who worked tirelessly over the weekend – their efforts were certainly appreciated by the many customers who have contacted us.”

As reported earlier this week all but one of the Supertram fleet of 25 trams saw use on the day (108 being the unlucky vehicle left at home) with services running every 3.5 minutes in the busiest areas. The most popular stops on the network were Arena, Tinsley, Middlewood and Malin Bridge (two of which were close to the finish line for the stage whilst the latter two have Park and Ride sites).

More than 7000km of track was travelled during the day – three times the distance normally travelled on a Sunday. Compared to the previous Sunday there was an amazing 435% increase in the number of passengers!

It just goes to show if you need to move crowds of people quickly you need to turn to light rail!

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3 Responses to Supertram breaks passenger number records

  1. Stuart Cooke says:

    It was an amazing day the timetable slipped a little as the day progressed , trams approached stops slowly due to the volume of passengers on the platforms and it was often difficult to get the doors closed . 6000 people travelled from Malin Bridge tram terminus to High Bradfield on mini buses a large number of these travelled there by the 30 minute tram service .

  2. Christopher Callan says:

    Really demonstrates why Light Rail has massive role to play in urban transport planning.

  3. Franklyn says:

    I’m glad I wasn’t in Sheffield on the day! Supertram is overcrowded at the best of times, so I can only imagine what it was like.

    It does seem a bit strange that someone at Stagecoach seems to think “every 3.5 minutes” is an intensive service. Look at archive film of Sheffield’s first generation trams and you’ll see one car set off from a stop as another pulls in directly behind it.

    Supertram desperately needs more vehicles and I think as the operator of the system, it should be down to Stagecoach, not the Government, to supply them. The seats per hour capacity over Supertram routes is woefully poor and a lot of locals, including myself, have given up on the system after constantly having to stand in cramped, hot, uncomfortable conditions.

    The problem is the people in charge don’t recognise the problem because they don’t know the actual passenger numbers. Fares are collected by traditional conductors. But the trams are so crowded it’s impossible for the poor old conductor to move around the vehicle, which means free travel for lots of people who consequently are not counted by the downloads from the ticket machines. From knowing the system, my guess for passenger numbers over Tour-de-France day would be about 50% again over what Stagecoach have stated.

    Come on Stagecoach… Put your hand in your pocket and shell out for some extra vehicles!

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