Select Committee on Transport Written Evidence


Memorandum by South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (LR 59)

LIGHT RAIL

INTRODUCTION

  Evidence has been submitted to the Select Committee by pteg, which represents the seven Passenger Transport Executives of England and Scotland. This deals with many of the issues that the Select Committee is considering in its inquiry. SYPTE fully supports this submission and will not repeat the points it has identified. However, particularly in view of the concerns raised about the Sheffield Supertram system in the National Audit Office Report, it is considered appropriate to inform the Select Committee of a number of points about the success of this system.

COSTS, FINANCING AND FORECASTS

  The Sheffield Supertram system is 29 km in length and was constructed at a total cost of £241 million. The construction was carried out using a contract let and overseen by the public sector and the system was delivered on time and to budget. Clearly different approaches may be appropriate in different circumstances, but in the light of cost increases experienced with alternative, more complex structures, the merits of this approach should continue to be assessed for new schemes.

  The financing of the scheme was via a number of grants and loans. It was hoped to raise £80 million towards paying these off from the privatisation of the system operation. However, due to a number of circumstances only £1.15 million was raised in this way. Clearly this highlights the need for robust and realistic forecasts. However, there is now more experience of implementing modern light rail systems in the UK and it is possible to benchmark forecasts against a number of existing systems to assess their realism. The experience in Sheffield clearly demonstrates the need for caution, but does not undermine the potential value of light rail systems.

  The initial demand forecasts were based on a number of assumptions some of which in the event turned out to be false, particularly in relation to land use along the route and the degree of competition from buses. As a consequence, subsequent reassessment of the likely patronage using the same prediction model but with changed assumptions suggested that the maximum patronage was in the order of 13-15 million, in comparison with the 22 million originally forecast. Patronage has now climbed to over 12 million, which suggests that the methodology may be basically sound.

BENEFITS

  Patronage in 2003-04 was 12.1 million journeys and is continuing to rise. In fact, it is currently rising faster than any other UK system. Almost 100% of services run and punctuality is at around 96%. Earlier surveys indicated that over 20% of passengers might otherwise have used cars. Satisfaction levels are high, particularly among regular users of the system. It is not possible to attribute direct regeneration benefits, but development has been strong along the Lower Don Valley served by one of the lines and it is considered that this has contributed to the attractiveness of the offer, alongside other factors.

  Overall, the tram is clearly an asset to the city and has enhanced its image. Whilst it is clear that the benefits are different to those expected from the original proposal, the benefits are nevertheless considerable. There has not been any attempt to quantify them to compare with the scheme costs. However, it is by no means certain that they would not provide a positive cost benefit analysis, albeit at a lower level than originally expected.

INTEGRATION

  The tram system now has a number of well used park and ride sites offering high standards of customer service, as evidenced by their Charter Mark status. The system is integrated with the heavy rail system via an Interchange at Meadowhall and a direct route to a stop at Sheffield Station from the passenger footbridge. The travelcards administered by SYPTE provide integrated ticketing for regular users and there is another commercial ticket allowing use of the tram and the city's main operator's buses. Further integration with the bus system is obviously difficult to achieve in a deregulated environment but could potentially be achieved through a Quality Contract.

BARRIERS TO FURTHER DEVELOPMENT

  The requirement for a 25% local contribution to any new or extended system is difficult to achieve in an area like South Yorkshire.

Graham Read

Head of Strategic Planning

February 2005



 
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