On its first Birthday, NET announced that 8.4 million journeys had been made on Nottingham's 21st century tram system; above its initial target. 25% of the journeys were made by people who would previously used the car.
Below are previous articles on NET, including those written for the Labour Party Best Practice Award, 2005.
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Our ambition for Nottingham, our belief in what can happen, has been transformed since the election of a Labour Government.
In Tory days, removing traffic lights on a junction in our main city square was a big issue.
Now, we have a clear zone – much extended pedestrianisation – in the city centre. Walking to Nottingham Castle and our theatres no longer means using dank underpasses. Traffic will soon be directed even further out of the centre and the convenience of changing bus services has been improved.
And now we have a 21st century tram system – Nottingham Express Transit (known as NET). The best in the country. It’s beautiful and the people deserve it.
It’s popular – carrying over 25 thousand passengers a day; clean and well designed – and built in neighbouring Derby.
It’s environmentally friendly – no emissions and on target to save 2 million car trips a year.
It’s integrated – NET tickets can be used on Nottingham City Transport’s bus services and Robin Hood Line trains; it’s well-served by park and ride sites.
It’s reliable; it’s frequent; it’s punctual. Achieving over 99% of its contractual targets.
The system is a result of effective partnership. The idea was started by Nottinghamshire Labour County Councillors over 15 years ago and brought on by both the City Council and effective advocacy from local business.
And it has been delivered through the Private Finance Initiative – at £200m, the largest transport PFI scheme.
The tram creates a climate for investment in go-ahead Nottingham – which has supported the growth of jobs in modern financial services and is amongst the top 5 shopping destinations in the country. The tram makes city centre jobs and opportunities more accessible to workers from the former coalfield areas and some of Nottingham’s deprived inner city areas.
And the tram is even supporting tourism. Visitors are making a trip out of the journey to Hucknall, where local Labour Councillors have made much more of their town’s connections with Lord Byron.
We are ambitious to expand the system to relieve congestion on the busy roads in from Derby and the M1 junctions 24 and 25. Businesses are already committing to sites along the proposed routes. Local contributions for the expansion will be supported by a Workplace Parking Levy – part of Nottingham’s commitment to radical transport policies.
Ambitious for people; integrated transport; radical policies. A winning combination.
Best Practice Awards Submission 2005
Local Authority Nottingham Political Control Labour Named Contact Michael Edwards Position Deputy Leader Telephone 07876 203352 E-Mail michael.edwards@nottinghamcity.gov.uk Fax 0115 9155447 Address 25 Penarth Gardens Mapperley Nottingham NG5 4EG Category Theme One – Delivering Quality Services Leading Partnerships to build a strong local economy
Best Practice Awards Submission
Title of the entry
Nottingham Express Transit – The Tram
Summary of the Submission
Nottingham Express Transit’s Line One runs for 14km between Nottingham Station and the former coalfield community of Hucknall to the north, passing through the city centre and disadvantaged inner city areas. An extremely complex project the tram was born out of a strong partnership between public and private sector partners. The tram in the nine months it has been running has already had a dramatic impact: economically, socially and environmentally.
Social inclusion always one of the key drivers for the tram project has seen the tram improve access for people with mobility difficulties and links to job and training opportunities and amenities in the city centre from disadvantaged areas. The tram has also had a dramatic impact on the ‘Liveability’ agenda, making Nottingham a better place to live, improving links to the city centre and all its associated work, leisure and shopping facilities.
Environmentally the tram is projected to reduce congestion on Nottingham’s streets by two million car journeys a year. This is conjunction with the increased pedestrianisation of the City Centre some of which has sprung directly from the tram works have helped make Nottingham a safer and more pleasurable place to live and visit.
But, it has perhaps economically that the tram has had its biggest impact. The tram was singled out as having played a key role in Nottingham being voted one of the top five shopping centres in the UK. The tram has played a key role in investment decisions – with investors citing the tram as a key motivator in pursuing developments. Paul Houghton operations manager at John Lewis’s store in Nottingham said the tram helped the city project an affluent and inspirational image.
£450 million plans to double the size of the ‘Broadmarsh Centre’ one of the cities major shopping centres, includes plans for a tram stop and other transport links. While plans for a £100 million overhaul of Nottingham Station are inextricably linked with a new tram interchange. The tram’s impact is such that companies are already locating along the proposed route of future lines.
How were Labour councillors involved and what was significant about their involvement?
The entire tram project was conceived and driven by a partnership of Labour Councillors on the City and County Councils.
The project right from its first inception was complex, NET Line One spans Nottingham City boundary and therefore entails partnership working between two local authorities and also includes an extremely complex array of private and public sector partners.
Labour Councillors have offered strong leadership supporting the NET project publicly and consistently putting the case in the face of opposition.
Labour politicians have worked hard to build a strong consensus of key partners around the tram including local businesses, and the community in order to deliver this state of the art project.
Why was this project innovative?
The project was the largest, most ambitious and complicated Local Government Private Finance Initiative in the country.
The 14km tramline contains six park and ride sites and over ten kilometres of the route is off road whilst elsewhere the tram enjoys priority over traffic delivering a fast and efficient service.
Nottingham’s tram is the only UK system to have the city’s main bus operator as part of the tram operating company, allowing the bus company to revise services along tram corridor and instead offer feeder services to tram. This also allows joint ticketing between the bus and tram and with the addition of rail journeys allows multi modal journeys.
What has the project achieved?
Latest figures show that well over 20,000 people are using NET line One every day. The project is well on course to carry 8.5 million passengers in its first year. While at the same time delivering 99% reliability and 98% punctuality.
EMDA sees the tram as one of the critical factors in “creating a climate for investment”.
Cited as a key factor in Nottingham being voted one of Britain’s top five shopping destinations.
Joint ticketing is currently used by 40% of passengers
In conjunction with the revised timetables of the main local bus operator, the Tram support a truly integrated Transport system that includes buses, trains and of course the Tram.
Endorsements
“NET is the highest value and arguably the most complex project procured using the PFI approach by any English Local Authority. It is powerful example of what Local Authorities can achieve for their communities with ambition and commitment.”
Peter Fanning Chief Executive – 4P’s
“With many individuals dedicated to more than one working party, the level of commitment was extraordinary, and a high level of professionalism was displayed at all times…Partnering was key to the success of this negotiation.”
Nick Dawson Arrow Light Rail
“The NET deal represents a further extension of the boundaries of what public/private partnership deals can achieve…”
Martin Buck Partnerships UK (Formerly the Treasury Taskforce)
I would like to offer you Nottingham as an example where it was got right. Nottingham is carrying 25,000 people a day, 5,000 coming from their park-and-ride schemes, because it was built for park-and-ride schemes on opening…and that I think is evidence that it has come together and that is how we are going to go forward.
David Rowlands Permanent Secretary, Department for Transport
[Updated 2005-03-09]
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