Bristol copies Cardiff? - shifts from cars to trams/light rail for growth?

Why is Cardiff shifting from car-based transport towards light rail and trams?

08/10/2024]

Location: The Education Centre, 160 cap. Directly opposite Bristol Royal Infirmary. Upper Maudlin Street, Bristol.

Pricing: this is a free event, but attendees may wish to make a donation towards costs.

Come and listen to Professor Mark Barry, About Mark Barry – Mark Barry (swalesmetroprof.blog) the driving force behind Cardiff's new trams and light rail and hear what Bristol and Bath can learn from it. Why did Cardiff realise that basing its transport on cars was not viable and why it shifted to a light rail/tram systems and the valuable lessons that can be applied to other cities.

Is it time for Bristol to tackle its chronic transport issues in the way Cardiff has and 8 other UK cities with successful trams, by focussing on light rail and trams rather than more roads - a process that has clearly not solved congestion in Bristol. How and why does light rail / tram improve employment and the local economy and environment? Why has France, having removed nearly all its trams post war, reinstalled them in all its major cities?

The project covers the wider Cardiff Capital Region, with 1.6M people in 10 local authorities. The Welsh Government (via Transport for Wales) are leading the Metro project.

It was recognized that basing the commute into Cardiff on cars from up to 30 miles away, was slow, inconvenient, and did not boost local growth and the economy, unlike light rail and trams which do promote growth.

Neither was car-based sustainable from the environmental approach.

The event is organized by Bath and Bristol Area Trams Association Bath & Bristol Area Trams Association - (bathtrams.uk); Bristol Civic Society Home Page - Bristol Civic Society; Tramforward Campaign Group of The Light Rail Transit Association | The Light Rail Transit Association (lrta.org); Bristol Rail Campaign (FoSBR) - Campaigning for rail at the core of an integrated transport network for Bristol, Bath and the West of England

Afternoon Invitation Only Meeting at Burgess Salmon for Senior Transport Civil Servants and Politicians

Please note there will be a similarly themed, but invitation-only, event for local politicians, Councillors, and officials from the West of England Combined Authority, etc at 3.30 for 4 pm at the leading City Lawyers Burgess Salmons' offices and one in the morning at a leading consulting engineer. Mail to [email protected] for details and an invitation indicating your background in transport or politics.

Back Ground Notes

Here is a recent pre-feasibility study on light rail for Bristol and Bath - Bristol Tram Feasibility Report — West of England Shared Transport and Active Travel Network (westact.org)

A recent report by the National Infrastructure Commission Government should commit to long-term funding of £22 billion for major transport projects in cities - NIC and Bristol gets a specific mention for a tram system.

Poor public transport (buses and no trams/light rail) explains UK's poor productivity - Bristol & Bath Area Trams Association (bathtrams.uk)

Host or Publisher David Andrews, Bath Trams, [email protected], 07795842295