Following on from our report last week about the annual Light Rail Awards Manchester Metrolink – or more precisely Transport for Greater Manchester – have now confirmed that they too won two awards on the night and were highly commended in a third category. The two winning categories were for Project of the Year (over 50m euros) and Best Customer Initiative with a highly commended in the Project of the Year (under 50m euros).
The Project of the Year (over 50m euros) was awarded for the Airport line – which of course opened well ahead of schedule – with the Best Customer Initiative being given for the introduction of free Wi-Fi on all Metrolink trams. The project to transform Deansgate-Castlefield was highly commended in the projects under 50m euros category.
Cllr Andrew Fender, Chair of the TfGM Committee, commented: “It’s great to see TfGM’s work rewarded – not just for transformational projects like the Airport line, but also for customer initiatives like our free Wi-Fi programme. The Airport line, which we delivered more than a year ahead of schedule, provides a vital link between Manchester Airport, Wythenshawe and the city centre, improving access to employment and supporting regeneration and growth. Free Wi-Fi on our trams means customers can browse the internet, use social media or catch up with work emails, as well as accessing online journey planning tools and service information – it’s all part of making travel easier, more pleasant and even more productive. We’re delighted that these achievements here in Greater Manchester have been nationally recognised as leading examples of success in the transport industry. We’d also like to congratulate the partners who have helped us to deliver such important projects and services, and we’re pleased to see their contributions rewarded.”
Well you can tell the judges don’t live in Greater Manchester!
If you read the categories which Metrolink was nominated for and for which it won awards I suspect they were justified.
To bring in the Airport Line on budget and 12 months early is surely worthy. The introduction of free Wi Fi for passengers, whilst not seen as particularly important for us old timers perhaps, is also significant for a large proportion of the travelling public whether the enthusiast fraternity like it or not.
The airport line is a stand alone category, fair enough – but wifi set alongside the woeful inadequacies of the system overall is just ridiculous.
The lack of a real cross city system for month after month after month is a disgrace.
I am coming head on to the ridiculous ticketing system regularly now.
Buying a season ticket is a joke. The only way to do it is to buy “offshore” as the on platform machines only allow purchases from that particular stop. So you end up buying from shop assistants who require guiding through the process. Equally you can’t buy from point to point but from zone to zone. The result is slow, laborious, repetitive as you never get the same shop assistant twice and basically unacceptable.
If you have a season ticket and wish to take a longer journey there is no means of buying an add on within the system. You again have to go to a local shop.
The system needs added security at night to prevent the trams being used as doss houses and to protect innocent passengers from pick pockets and worse. Such security staff could also sell tickets – aid passengers and provide a human presence as found elsewhere.
The attitude to park and ride, to dog owners, etc smacks of a system run by people who think the system is their fiefdom, not a public service, and what people changing from bus or main line rail with Fido must think about Manchester when they have to return to a bus or use a cab is a very poor reflection on the system.
We need better public transport Metrolink as currently set up is not fit for purpose. The fact that at rush hour it is packed doesn’t mean it’s good. It means it’s oversubscribed like any other at rush hour.
Accordingly I do not believe there was any merit in the award in that category, all other things taken into account.