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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