this questionnaire as it only gets a selective answer, whereas I am trying to find out an overall answer of the general public, not just a minority opinion. I tried to ask an equal amount of male and female’s, and of all age groups highlighted on my questionnaire. This gave me answers from all the different types of people, and all different ages.
I also wanted views from people who lived outside of Nottingham, to get their general opinion on the transport system and what the tram has done to it. To find out ‘outsiders’ views, I selected a few people that looked particularly ‘touristy’.
Secondary Data:
The majority of my secondary data came from the Internet (see appendix for sources of information used throughout my coursework). I also used published leaflets about the tram and transport systems to obtain information. Maps off the Internet and off leaflets were also used to help show the location of points and routes the tram takes. These sources were full of information, but hard to find. They helped me obtain information and I utilized it well to answer my initial question.
Question 1 was unimportant for graphing as it just shows how many people carried out my questionnaire were residents of Nottingham. I thought this was irrelevant to graph because it does not help me with my overall question, as it cannot be analysed. The results I got were:
Are you a resident of Nottingham?
Yes: 27 No: 3
Fig 5.
Graph to show results to question 2 on my questionnaire.
Out of all the 30 people who carried out my questionnaire, only 2 did not use public transport in Nottingham. This shows that the majority of people in Nottingham use public transport, and only a tiny minority do not. This can be due to them not living in Nottingham or only using private transport (cars). The graph therefore shows that public transport is a very popular system in Nottingham, and that lots of people need to be pleased with the tram system for it to be a success. As many people use public transport already, the tram would have to succeed very well to persuade people to stop using the public transport they currently do, and to move onto the tram.
Fig 6.
Graph to show results to question 3 on my questionnaire.
This is one of the most significant results of my questionnaire. It shows that, basically, the tram is not the most popular form of transport around in Nottingham. The bus almost doubles the amount of popularity to the tram, making it the highest and most significant scoring transport system around. This is very interesting, as the tram was introduced to ‘outscore’ the bus, and become the most popular form of transport in Nottingham says NET (Nottingham Express Transit), the makers behind the tram network. This graph also shows that the train is also more popular than the tram. Even though its only proportionally more popular, the train still beats it. This is concerning as trains in any English city have a case of being unreliable and late. Even with these factors, the tram is still beaten, which is a major letdown for NET.
Fig 7.
This graph is also very significant as it shows that the tram system really isn’t up to scratch. A vast majority of people said that it ‘could be better’. Meaning that something has to be improved to make it a worthwhile asset to Nottingham and Nottingham’s transport system. After all, if people aren’t going to ride on the tram, as it just isn’t good enough or not suitable for them, there is just going to be more traffic as the tram clogs up space on the roads. One person even went to the extreme of saying the tram system was ‘awful’. I think this person was very critical, and that point should be discarded as only 1 in 30 people said it was ‘awful’. A fair amount of people suggested that the tram system was OK. This gives the tram a brief respite from critical bombardment, but only less than a third of the people thought it was OK. 4 people actually thought the tram system was ‘pretty good’, so there are actually some supporters of the NET!
Overall this graph sums up that the tram system could be a lot better. The majority of the public believe that it ‘could be better’ or its just ‘OK’. This really isn’t good enough for the reintroduction of the tram, as it needs to be something special to make people move away from their current transport system.
“…It is estimated that each year line one will take 2 million car journeys off our roads…” This is the prediction NET made when the project for line one was in production. It seems that that prediction is not reality; instead people believe that the tram is just another hindrance as the majority of people state the tram ‘could be better’.
Fig 8.
I think this is the most momentous out of all the results of my questionnaires. It shows that the worst thing is obviously the positioning of the tram network. It just doesn’t cover enough significant space and isn’t down the right paths. With only one route, it needs to be greatly expanded. I don’t think the tram will ever particularly ‘take off’, if the routes aren’t expanded. They are the key issue, as my audience has provided me with it. With the tram going on only one route, the majority of Nottingham’s public aren’t going to use it, as it just doesn’t go near their residential setting. Only people that actually live near the route might use it, and that is a very small minority of Nottingham’s populace. The tram really can’t compete with the bus when positioning is the main issue. The bus travels everywhere in Nottingham, and is mostly convenient for everyone. The tram just can’t rival that with only one route, and when its not popular, other routes won’t be built. As it can’t get popular as the main downside is positioning, it really isn’t going to be a big success.
Timing was the other main downside about the tram system, as it appears to be quite regularly late. It’s only give-or-take a few minutes, but that’s a long time in terms of public transport. People want transport on the dot, and being late regularly just isn’t acceptable. The NET had planned for the trams to arrive as close to the proposed time as possible. This would enhance the popularity of the tram and make people want to use the tram instead of the bus. Buses are usually not exactly on time, and when people are in a hurry, they want reliability. This was where the tram was supposed to come in, but according to my questionnaire results it doesn’t seem like it met its proposed requirements.
The next question of my questionnaire cannot be graphed, as it required the public to write their answer rather than just circle an answer. I obviously got a lot of different results for this question, as most people write different things. The most popular answers were as follows:
How could the trams be improved?
Need to be closer to residential areas.
Expand the network to cover south side of city.
Have more trams running.
Make more routes/Expand the network.
Make them run later in the evenings.
I did encounter a trend though, as the most popular answers came from “Make more routes/Expand the network.” This is definitely what needs to be done as it now has been proved by 2 questions from my questionnaire.
Fig 9.
This result to my questionnaire is not very surprising due to the other results of my questionnaire. It shows that nearly double the amount of people feel the tram is not an attractive factor than that that do. It shows NET have not done enough research themselves when it come to the publics opinion, as the majority of the populace of Nottingham is not satisfied with the tram system.
Fig 10.
This result confirms all the other points I have been making about the tram system. Nearly 100% of people wanted the tram network to get expanded, to the benefit of all living in and outside of Nottingham. Only very small amounts of people want to keep it the same and I expect those people live right next to the tram route themselves so there is no need for it to be expanded from their opinion. For the people that want the tram network to be smaller, all I can speculate is that they despise the tram network and want it completely removed from Nottingham.
Vienna is a large European city that has a very extensive and well-established integrated public transport system. Unlike many other European cities that scrapped their original tram network in the 1950-60’s, Vienna retained their original tram network that now comprises of 36 different routes. Efficient bus routes and a comprehensive metro network compliment these routes. Vienna is a very ancient city and has many small narrow streets, making it particularly car-unfriendly. The public therefore have been used to taking tram, metro and bus to get from A to B. As they have a decent choice of transport methods, they are happy to do without their car, and the integrated transport system works very well for them.
Fig 11.
Photograph to show Vienna tram system in working action.
Nottingham has now recently launched a scheme named ‘the big wheel’ which aims to persuade the populace of Nottingham to use integrated transport, to walk and cycle more, and to use less cars. Cycle lanes are under construction to make the roads more accessible and ‘cyclist friendly’. Vienna has been using an integrated transport system for an age of years now. Its trams are one of the most ancient in the world and are a historical landmark for Vienna. It is this use of integrated transport that has allowed Vienna to survive the evolution of civilisation, as the city of Vienna is extremely old and narrow.
Fig 12.
Nottingham’s integrated transport vision:
Nottingham Express Transit is the jigsaw piece needed to make the City's transport picture complete.
It is one crucial part of a strategy which aims to reduce car dependency, increase public transport use and allow the City to breathe, both in terms of its citizens' physical health and the City's own economic health.
Work started building Line One of the system in June 2000, and trams started running in March 2004. There is a strong will at and - promoters of the scheme - for a network covering the whole of Nottingham to be developed. Plans are underway to develop two more lines initially, to the south and west of the city.
In the meantime, Line One will have to prove its worth. Its 14kms run from Hucknall in the former Nottinghamshire coalfields north of the City, and from a spur to a Park and Ride site close to the M1 to the west, into the heart of Nottingham and its railway station. It has 23 stops, including five large Park and Ride sites.
Studies on behalf of the councils which are promoters of the scheme, the Arrow consortium which developed it and the Government which backed it to the tune of £180 million in a PFI deal, all concluded that, by the fifth year of operation up to 11 million people will use the tram every year. That equates to two million journeys taken off the City's roads annually.
That's a significant boost for Nottingham's endeavours to tackle congestion and pollution, which threaten the vitality of the city. Though Nottingham has a thriving economy - attracting more new jobs than any other British city in recent years, frequently ranked most popular shopping centre outside London and pulling in thousands of sports fans and night-time revellers every week - it wants to protect and enhance this position.
The Government and local authorities like Nottinghamshire County and Nottingham City Councils see a comprehensive transport system as the key, which will unlock potential. To this end, the councils are taking a long-term view of transport, which provides a vision and a goal to aim for.
The tram runs through the plans like a golden seam, it is proposed for example, to tie into the Clear Zone scheme at the heart of the city, which will eventually enforce a no-emissions policy for all vehicles inside the zone - and vehicles don't come much cleaner and greener than the modern electric tram.
The tram also has a part to play in the City Council-led Nottingham Commuter Planners Club, which brings local employers together to discuss how to provide incentives for staff choosing not to travel to work in their cars. What better incentive than a sophisticated form of public transport, which is smart, efficient, frequent, fast and fairly priced?
If they need further convincing, people need look no further than Croydon and Manchester. In Croydon, in the first month of operation of the Tram link service, the largest local shopping centre reported 100,000 extra visitors a week - a leap of almost a quarter - with a significant shift from car to tram.
And in Manchester, the introduction of trams has been such a success - carrying nearly 14 million passengers a year - that a second line has already been built and more are planned, including routes to the Trafford Park shopping centre and Manchester Airport.
Nottingham is learning from the Croydon and Manchester experience by linking its route with the rail network and bus services - Line One will have interchanges at Hucknall, Bulwell and Nottingham railway stations.
One difference Nottingham has from most existing tram schemes is that Nottingham city transport, which operates 80 per cent of bus services in the city, is part of the consortium which is built, designed, funded and runs NET. So complete integration with buses, branded feeder services and joint ticketing are featured - as well as fares being set broadly in line with Nottingham's famously low bus fares, making one of the country's finest public transport systems affordable for all.
Throughout the course of my investigation, I have found, conducted and analysed data to try and answer my question. As my investigation is now complete, I have come up with an answer to my initial question:
Has the Reintroduction of the Tram system in Nottingham been a success or failure?
I have found that the construction of the existing and proposed tram network alone will not dramatically alter the current traffic problems and congestion in Nottingham. I have found that the tram network is just to small to make a difference to Nottingham or its transport system. As not many people are or will use the tram as long as there is only one route. This one route just isn’t sufficient enough to supply Nottingham’s citizens with a new, better form of transport.
Although in despite of this, the first route (Line One), is the making of Nottingham’s integrated transport system, ‘The big wheel’. This is making a step in the right direction, as looking at other evidence (fig 11.), shows how much the integrated transport system can benefit a city. I have found out that the populace of Nottingham just aren’t happy with one tram route. People want it expanding; they want the tram, just on a much bigger scale that what it is at the moment. It needs to travel in all directions, especially covering the south side of the city, and to dense residential areas. Overall to conclude the information, the tram system in Nottingham just hasn’t been a success. People aren’t satisfied with only one route, and the Council aren’t going to make more until people are satisfied with the first. ‘The Big Wheel’ scheme is the way forwards for Nottingham. I feel this will cut down on traffic congestion and pollution by the amount that it needs to be. A tram route alone isn’t going to change anything, especially as only a very small minority of people actually use it. All in all, it hasn’t been a great success.
I understand that my coursework is only a very small part of a much bigger picture. My predictions and answers could have been different if I had researched a different area of Nottingham.
Overall, I think my investigation went pretty well. I didn’t really encounter any problems, although when I was handing out my questionnaires, I found it hard to persuade people to fill them in as a lot of people didn’t have the time or patience to do so. If I were to change anything in my investigation, I would have used more primary data. One questionnaire just isn’t sufficient enough for my investigation. I would have also investigated another city, which has recently introduced trams in great detail, to see if that city encountered the same problems and compare that to Nottingham. I would also research heavily into the aims of ‘The Big Wheel’, and see if the tram route will stage the rest of the integrated transport system for Nottingham.
Appendix
Resources from:
Resources from:
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Resources from: leaflets published by NET
