Fare dodger advertisements

Manchester Buses posted an awesome word search for fare dodgers. And guess what? The GMPTE are being positively demure.

I found:
Pig
Criminal
Scally
Thief
Sponger


Any others? I also found hue but I think that may be an accident.

Inadequate track caused derailment on 17th of January

I saw all this, I have a nice view of Pomona from my office.

The 28-page report states: “The derailment was caused by the poor condition of the track, which resulted in the leading wheelset being derailed.

“Contributory factors include deficiencies in track inspection and maintenance, the design of the track and the contractual framework surrounding audits and repairs of the infrastructure.

“The contractual arrangements between Serco and GMPTE may have been causal to the derailment as they gave rise to a situation where Serco had no financial incentive to carry out repairs on the track at Pomona.”

Track’s poor condition to blame for tram derailment, report says

And yet, no announcement of track work on the Eccles line from Stagecoach either. Hmmm.

Attack on Metrolink at Timperley

Timperley is on the Altrincham line!

So, all over the trams on the Eccles line there are signs promising increased police patrols and security. I have yet to see a single officer unaccompanied by a fare inspector.

I guess revenue is more important than violent crime?

A mother-of-two has told how she "thought she was going to die" after she was kicked unconscious by a gang of youths on her tram journey home.

Julie Pickford, 47, had a fractured eye socket and severe cuts and bruises after being beaten by a gang of teenagers on the tram from Manchester.

Mrs Pickford said a youth was throwing popcorn at her face and when she asked him to stop, she was attacked.

A 15-year-old girl has been arrested and released on bail, police said.

She boarded the Metrolink tram at Timperley and was travelling home after a night out.

She was punched in the face and fell to the floor where she was then beaten by others in the gang.

She added: "The police admitted to me that there had been trouble all night from these youths.

"Why did the police let the youths on knowing that there would be trouble? They (the police) should have been on the tram."

Pick pockets and now violence. Awful.

Woman 'feared gang-attack death'

Passengers on Altrincham to Bury line happy.

I think the GMPTE wins for the most misleading title... EVER.

Satisfaction levels with Metrolink are now neck and neck with cars, according to a new survey of people living near the tram network.

Transport bosses at Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE), which owns the Metrolink system, commissioned polling company Ipsos MORI to interview 1,600 residents close to the Bury and Altrincham lines.

Of the people who gave an opinion, 89% were satisfied with Metrolink services and 86% were satisfied with travelling by car. An identical survey carried out before last summer's track upgrades found that satisfaction levels were at 79% for Metrolink and 88% for cars.

Shock! Horror! People are happy with a line with sort of reliable service and upgraded lines! YOU DON'T SAY.

They completely left Eccles out of it. I can't imagine why.

Metrolink now neck and neck with cars

9/4/2008 delays

Hoooooo boy. Last night was horrific.

1. Got to Metrolink stop around 5:30pm and hear the dreaded voice of Julie over the tannoy.
'Due to a failed vehicle earlier in the day, the Eccles line is experiencing severe delays.' Ok, so, what does that mean then?

2. Decided to wait it out and then the message changed.
'Due to traffic on Eccles New Road, the Eccles line is experiencing severe delays.'

So, missing trams and now traffic. Oh hooray!

A tram eventually turned up around 6:10, which was too crammed to get on by time it got down to me. The next one came around 6:20, by which time the next train would be at 7:30pm.

Decided to make the most of it and met my husband for dinner in town. Upon which I'd discovered a bus had overturned in Eccles and some woman left her car and was killed by a lorry on the M62.

We finally got home at 9:00pm, 3.5 hours after I left work.

>:(

West Midlands pulls out of competition for transport money

I find this whole bidding system thing really bizarre. Surely if a council needs a larger grant to improve public transport, they should just get it? Why should authorities have to fish for money like the private sector does? It seems a little stingy and more than a little unfair.

But since Greater Manchester's main 'competition' dropped out, it looks like it's coming here.

Greater Manchester's bid to pay for public transport improvements with public money has been given a boost by the unexpected withdrawal of its main rival, the West Midlands, from the competition.

It means Manchester is likely to be awarded £1.2 billion from the government's Transport Innovation Fund, plus a loan of £1.8 billion, which must be repaid with congestion charge revenues.

The West Midlands pulled out of the race after decided it did not want a regional road toll. Apart from Manchester, Cambridge is the only other contender.

Unexpected boost for congestion charge supporters

Is congestion actually falling in Manchester?

I don't think congestiion is falling. But it's an interesting thought. Below we have yet another local MP saying they're being blackmailed by Whitehall.

BLACKLEY MP, Graham Stringer, has accused the government of "blackmailing" councils into introducing controversial pay as you drive schemes to ease congestion.

Along with other Labour and Tory MPs, Mr Stringer claims they are being offered more cash for public transport, including Metrolink routes, only if they bring in congestion charging.

"We have got £500M towards a £1.5bn tram scheme and the government have said that if we want the extra £1bn we will in practice have to have a congestion charge.

"I don’t think that’s fair when one looks at the investment that is being made in London," said Mr Stringer.

"The case for investing in the tram and train systems in Greater Manchester stands on its own and a separate case would have to be made for introducing a congestion charge."

I think he's right though. Years of subpar investment and bad management have left the train and tram systems in a dire place. Something drastic needs to happen with or without a congestion charge.

We are being blackmailed to bring in toll tax - M.P.

Marks and Spencer moving in to further disrupt the Eccles line.

The building in that photo on the left is the almost completed Metro building. It's pretty nice. Though, I do kind of miss some open space near the tram stop. But, as this is At The Forefront Of Regeneration Manchester, that space required a building rather urgently.

Marks and Spencer, according to rumors, are scoping it out. I guess it paid off for some developer.

The retailer has identified five sites — four in Manchester and one on Salford Quays — and is aiming to narrow the choice down to two by the end of the month. The company has issued a request for proposals (RFP) through advisers CB Richard Ellis.

The five developments on the shortlist are understood to be Wilson Bowden's Belvedere; Langtree's 40 Springardens; Argent's Three Piccadilly Place and Allied London's Spinningfields, as well as HBG's Metro at Exchange Quay.

Dear Marks and Spencer,

Please don't move more staff out here. It is hard enough to get home at night. What you don't know about plans to extend the Metrolink is they still aren't getting rid of the broken cigar tubes currently on the line. Your staff will be late, tired and pissy by time they go get to work (if ever.) Please check into city centre space. The Quays are bad and to be avoided.

Thank you.

Marks & Spencer seeks city centre office space

Jobs: GMPTE Economic Advisor

Oh man. Hey, do you guys like my new graphics? The last one was brought to you by an advanced program called MSPaint! I have to say though, for hosting, I've always loved Flickr. :)

On to the job description:

Providing strategic advice to the body in charge of strategy and investment decisions relating to public transport within Greater Manchester, ranging from the buses, trains and Metrolink to the Transport Innovation Fund bid and its plans for congestion charging.

Who writes these things? Strategic advice to the body in charge of strategy? What does that even mean?

I love how they tacked on the congestion charging thing into the body of the job advertisement. Pretty much decided then?

What Manchester does today, the rest of the country tends to follow, especially where regeneration and city governance is concerned. The focus is now very firmly on public transport, so the person who gets this job will be blazing a trail at the forefront of change. Make a success of it and a lucrative future as a consultant beckons.

I pretty much laughed out loud at this. Right, because Manchester is such a pinnacle of public transport right? My friends in London think Manchester public transport is bad. Blaizing a trail to the forefront of change! This isn't a god damned gold rush, you're telling a group of councils how to spend their money. And hey, guess what, if you do well, you can be an overpaid consultant wasting tax payers' money even more. Brilliant.

TheTIF bid is high risk and any number of things could go wrong. Meanwhile the economic adviser will have to keep an eye on the day job, which involves managing the relationship between the GMPTE and the widely differing requirements of the Department for Transport, the Office of Fair Trading, local and national operators and the business community. Oh, and the fares have to be kept down.

I did laugh out loud at this. Fares have to be kept down? Like that's a concern now? My 122 pound season ticket begs to differ.

Crain's Manchester business jobby thingie.

Delays 7/4/2008

Evening Eccles tram was quite bad. Got crushed until I made good use of my elbows. >:(

Evening trains to Southport via Atherton were also a bit messed up apparently. Police chasing some chavs around Walkden! Later on they were on the tracks. Significantly different from the train showing up early (!!!!) yesterday morning.

Full of indignation! Delays 2/4/08

I stopped tracking them for a while. Riding the Metrolink drove me into despair, despair I tell you. But I think now is a good time to remind the Internet that Stagecoach Metrolink and Northern Rail are horrendous forms of transport.

Trains and Trams! Don't Do It!

AM: 8:13 Southport to Manchester Victoria, 35 minutes late thanks to a problem attaching extra carriages at Wigan. Thankfully someone had a shred of intelligence and managed to one of the trains to the 8:35. Was still 36 minutes late to work though, partially thanks to the brain dead ticket inspector at Deansgate who either failed reading comprehension or was being a dick. Take your pick, both are equally likely in my experience.

5:32 tram from Exchange Quay to Piccadilly was rammed. That pretty much can only mean that the earlier 5:20 didn't turn up. (Approximate times, tram riders aren't good enough for real timetables.)

Manchester Confidential sticks it to Stagecoach Metrolink!

It's nice to see someone besides me, the MEN and Councillor Clague talking about how awful Metrolink is:

Terminal illness
Sleuth has been shocked to hear about the thousands of passengers left stranded by the inefficiencies of British public transport. Huge groups of angry and inconvenienced passengers have been made to re-arrange journeys as they simply tried to take off for work or leisure. A Metrolink spokesperson said: “I don’t know what people expect, there are bound to be teething problems in a brand new system which is only 16 years old. Passengers need to show patience whilst we tweak the system for the four thousandth time. We expect it all to be complete by the time people born on the opening day of 6 April 1992 are pensionable. Terminal 5 will have some way to go before it catches up with us.”

I know, it's only been 16 years! So impatient!

They've also got a QA going to Stagecoach. Hurrah!