Edinburgh Trams have
been fully operational for a year now ... without diminishing the seriousness of the difficulties in getting to that point, the first 'operational' year has gone well - some details in the Release below:
Almost five million
use Edinburgh Trams in first year
Newly released figures show that there were
approximately 4.92 million passenger journeys on Edinburgh Trams during its
first year of operations, that’s around 370,000 ahead of target set before
launch.
Launched on Saturday 31 May 2014 at 5am,
Edinburgh Trams is also set to surpass revenue targets set out in its business
model by around 3%. Concessionary card holders are currently accounting for 10.9%
of passengers which is well within the Councils budget which was set to ensure
that Edinburgh’s card holders get free travel on the tram.
Edinburgh Trams received a 95% overall customer
satisfaction rating following an independent UK wide survey by Passenger Focus
and operated with 99% service reliability. This means that reliability and
satisfaction levels are among the top performing public transport operators in
the UK.
Tom Norris, Director and General Manager of
Edinburgh Trams, said:
“The first birthday is a very exciting day
for all of us because it rounds up a hugely significant year for everyone
involved. We’ve beaten our targets and we’re on the right path. The success we’ve worked so hard to achieve
is down to the commitment and hard work of everyone involved in delivering the
service day in day out.
“We were absolutely delighted with the
initial surge of interest when we launched, but even more grateful that the
local and visiting public have continued to give us their support.
“We have developed the service over the
first year and we’ll continue to improve and adapt to keep our passengers
happy, whilst being ready to take advantage of opportunities that come our way.
The airport is growing, TFE is developing well, a new tram stop will link us
the Fife line and our city is going from strength to strength. We’re ready to be at the centre of that
development and part of the future success of Edinburgh.”
Councillor Lesley Hinds, Chair of Transport
for Edinburgh, added: “To have had nearly five million passengers on board the
trams since their launch is a massive achievement – it’s thanks to the support
of the public that we’ve had such a successful first year.
“Credit must also go to the team, whose
efforts and professionalism ensure Edinburgh Trams provides an excellent
service to passengers every day. As it continues to develop as a key element of
the city’s transport offering we now look forward to its future as part of the
city’s modern, integrated transport system.”
Highlights of the first year included major
spikes in passengers heading to Murrayfield Stadium for a One Direction
concert, Celtic FC’s Champions League match and Scotland Rugby’s Six Nations
games, plus significantly increased passenger numbers during Edinburgh’s summer
and winter festivals.
Edinburgh Trams has a fleet of 27 and currently
employs 130 staff including drivers, Ticketing Services Assistants (TSAs),
control centre operators and maintenance engineers.
Between them, tram
drivers and TSAs completed 77,525 journeys over the year covering 674,467 miles
up and down the route. The depot was manned for 8,760 hours by staff on a rota
system.
The tram line is 14km
long with 15 stops (16 once the Edinburgh Gateway is complete) and a journey
from the airport to the city centre takes approx. 35 minutes. In 2014 the
service contributed 3 million new passengers to the Transport for Edinburgh
group with Lothian Buses also carrying an extra 3 million passengers more than
in 2013. That’s 6 million more passengers on public transport in 2014 over
2013.
The service carried
21,000 passengers on its first day and 130,000 in its first week.
Ends
Notes to Editors
- Revenue
projections include discounted products, meaning that patronage does not
directly compare.
- Transport
for Edinburgh is the transport group which combines award-winning bus
operator Lothian Buses and Edinburgh Trams Ltd, the operators of the new
tram service.
- Transport
for Edinburgh’s vision is to provide seamless and high quality transport
choice for residents and visitors to Edinburgh.
