Leeds trolley buses set to get the go ahead!

Riponian · Post by **Riponian** » Fri 11 Feb, 2011 11:00 am

I just get the impression that West Yorkshire is being used as an example of what happens if you don't have any decent transport planning. We've been trying to get some improvements, and apart from getting the odd castoff (the original Wharfedale/Airedale electric trains) we seem to fail the criteria for central government, ie that we're north of Watford.Go back to planning a Park&Ride at Scholes adjacent to the A64 with the Cross Gates to Scholes section re-opened and run the Aire/Wharfe trains through to there, and skip the usual money sinking consultants.

Reginal Perrin · Post by **Reginal Perrin** » Fri 11 Feb, 2011 11:05 am

Double post.

Reginal Perrin · Post by **Reginal Perrin** » Fri 11 Feb, 2011 11:05 am

If a tram does not provide a commute from Rothwell then I'm buggered if I'm paying for it. It will be of no use to us whatsoever.

BLAKEY · Post by **BLAKEY** » Fri 11 Feb, 2011 1:02 pm

Reginal Perrin wrote: If a tram does not provide a commute from Rothwell then I'm buggered if I'm paying for it. It will be of no use to us whatsoever. Long ago you'd have been on a winner Reginald - there was an LCT tram service from Rothwell Church via Wood Lane, Bell Hill and Hunslet to the City - but the last one's gone a while since.

Reginal Perrin · Post by **Reginal Perrin** » Fri 11 Feb, 2011 1:33 pm

BLAKEY wrote: Reginal Perrin wrote: If a tram does not provide a commute from Rothwell then I'm buggered if I'm paying for it. It will be of no use to us whatsoever. Long ago you'd have been on a winner Reginald - there was an LCT tram service from Rothwell Church via Wood Lane, Bell Hill and Hunslet to the City - but the last one's gone a while since. Now mate, there was a shed at the top of Bell Hill, it's still there. Lot's of picture as of trams in Rothwell on Leodis.I don't use the bus because it is a stupid amount of money for a bu journey £5 a day to communte and to be carges through the back door for something that only goes from Stourton is criminal. People will not be happy to incur the cost of car ownership just to drive to meet a tram within spitting distance of town.I've said this before but if you wanted to do that, you could do it now. You could park up in Hunslet and get one of the dozens of busses into town. People don't because it's not practical. The shiny new-ness of the bus/tram/trolley is incedental.I don't think the level of investment neesd to be that high. Many of the main suburbs already have train stations, they need to grant licences to small operators to get people there and back and then built new stations in places like Rothwell which don't currentyl have a train.A tram or trolley bus just seems like showboating and not solving a problem.

BLAKEY · Post by **BLAKEY** » Fri 11 Feb, 2011 10:31 pm

Reginal Perrin wrote: BLAKEY wrote: Reginal Perrin wrote: If a tram does not provide a commute from Rothwell then I'm buggered if I'm paying for it. It will be of no use to us whatsoever. Long ago you'd have been on a winner Reginald - there was an LCT tram service from Rothwell Church via Wood Lane, Bell Hill and Hunslet to the City - but the last one's gone a while since. A tram or trolley bus just seems like showboating and not solving a problem. To a very large extent I agree wholeheartedly with you on this - after all we've seen enough with the "purple slugs" on one isolated route haven't we ?? - and I object strongly to having my admittedly meagre intelligence insulted when some marketing whizz kid tells me that an articulated bus with wheel spats is a "Streetcar" with a flight deck and a pilot !! A tram or trolleybus system can be tremendously successful but primarily needs to be on a large and economic scale in any connurbation - these very limited piecemeal "keeping up with Jones's" schemes like the ones proposed in Leeds are totally misguided (please pardon the unintentional pun there)

Post by **cnosni** » Fri 11 Feb, 2011 11:40 pm

Reginal Perrin wrote: BLAKEY wrote: Reginal Perrin wrote: If a tram does not provide a commute from Rothwell then I'm buggered if I'm paying for it. It will be of no use to us whatsoever. Long ago you'd have been on a winner Reginald - there was an LCT tram service from Rothwell Church via Wood Lane, Bell Hill and Hunslet to the City - but the last one's gone a while since. Now mate, there was a shed at the top of Bell Hill, it's still there. Lot's of picture as of trams in Rothwell on Leodis.I don't use the bus because it is a stupid amount of money for a bu journey £5 a day to communte and to be carges through the back door for something that only goes from Stourton is criminal. People will not be happy to incur the cost of car ownership just to drive to meet a tram within spitting distance of town.I've said this before but if you wanted to do that, you could do it now. You could park up in Hunslet and get one of the dozens of busses into town. People don't because it's not practical. The shiny new-ness of the bus/tram/trolley is incedental.I don't think the level of investment neesd to be that high. Many of the main suburbs already have train stations, they need to grant licences to small operators to get people there and back and then built new stations in places like Rothwell which don't currentyl have a train.A tram or trolley bus just seems like showboating and not solving a problem. The tram is very successful in Manchester and Sheffield,im not so sure its a matter of keeping up with the Jonesy's as much as trying to stop Leeds coming to a grinding halt.The trouble with running more rail services is capacity,paths for trains are to the max.New operators would either have to get old cast off rolling stock or buy new,the latter option would not be viable to a rail operator.As i said,if we wish to benefit from some sort of mass public transport system we can either all carry on moaning about it and get nowhere,or bite the bullet and put our own hands in our own pockets,as if they weren't getting picked by the government one way or another as it is!!We are not going to get any help from anyone else,thats clear

Leodian · Post by **Leodian** » Sat 12 Feb, 2011 12:10 am

The future forecast many years back was that we would all now be moving around flying using our own jet packs. No need for infrastructure! Shame that has not yet happened as I've been looking forward to doing it.

BLAKEY · Post by **BLAKEY** » Sat 12 Feb, 2011 9:37 am

Leodian wrote: The future forecast many years back was that we would all now be moving around flying using our own jet packs. No need for infrastructure! Shame that has not yet happened as I've been looking forward to doing it. When the jet packs come in I do hope they're only optional - as a self confessed landlubber who is too terrified of aeroplanes to even consider taking off I would have an awful lot of walking to do if street transport disappeared completely. Another confession now - I was in the RAF, but very safely underground in a bomb proof bunker as a Radar Operator !!

headingleylad · Post by **headingleylad** » Mon 14 Feb, 2011 6:13 pm

What an unenvious record Leeds holds "The largest City in Europe not to have an Tramway, Underground, or LRT system" Leeds deserves better! The Metro should stop accepting no for an answer from the Government, that is what Manchester did and they got what they wanted. Leeds should have stuck with the supertram and not keep changing it's mind.Trolleybuses will never the problems of Leeds, if they wont get out of their cars for buses do they really think they will for a bus with a pantograph on the roof running on the same roads as their cars.