MODAL MUSICAL CHAIRS!

5 March 2004 21:41

To: John Maund

DUDLEY AND SANDWELL METRO

MODAL MUSICAL CHAIRS!
In the 1960s, our transport experts closed the rail line now used for Metro One to mean that train passengers transferred mainly to cars.  To now claim that 20% of passengers are likely to be car owners who have chosen Metro One trams - as David Bull, Head of Transport Strategy said at a public meeting on 5 February 2004 - completely overlooks the fact that the car drivers were the ones who had to transfer to their cars from trains.  They have now simply transferred back - but to trams instead of the original trains!

Put another way, after a gap of 20-30 years, the 20% of car owners who
chose the tram, simply undid the enforced modal shift of a similar percentage when the train passengers had to resort to their cars when the current Metro line closed to trains in the 1960s.  In other words, it is not a genuine modal shift from cars to trams.  It is actually, a 20% modal shift from TRAIN to tram!  Returning the trains would have been more cost effective and sensible - and, quicker and easier to achieve, too!  It would also have helped with the modernisation of the West Coast Mainline.

From my research, 77% of the first three Metro lines are to go on rail
lines; the remaining 23% on roads.  Therefore, since Metro development
(lines 1,2,3) is seeing 77% of its trams replacing trains and the further
23% replacing buses, is the colossal expense a prudent and sensible use of taxpayers' money?  Of course it is not.  It simply plays musical chairs
with now three Cinderella and failing public transport modes while car use continues to rise inexorably and completely untouched by all our huffing and puffing to get trams to replace - actually - buses and trains.

Rob Donald, Richard Worrall and David Pywell, our Big Three transport
chiefs, are suffering from self-delusion - that the trams are taking over
from cars!  Incidentally, not one of them turned up for last week's major
Transport Summit at the Burlington Hotel, New Street - except Rob - for the free lunch, only!