Bath needs trams to be a liveable city

In reply to Mike Clarkson and John Eddison (Letters, November 26), I would simply ask them this question: “Why is it that public transport in most Austrian, Belgian, Dutch, French, German and Swiss cities is provided by trams, with higher ridership than we achieve anywhere in the UK?”

The public authorities in those six countries (and many others) are not stupid. They recognise that a tram is superior to a bus as its tracks ensure level boarding at all doors with just a few millimetres of horizontal separation and because it costs less to operate. Trams are also proven to attract more people out of cars than buses can and they are significant catalysts for urban regeneration, supporting inward investment and creating jobs.

Building a tram system is an investment for a sustainable future and, despite obvious high costs of construction, will lead to urban regeneration, transformation of air quality and, measured over a sensible period of 50 or more years, will cost less than an all-bus system.

Hill-climbing is not a problem (steeper grades than in Bath are served by tram in several cities) and tram-connected park-and-ride sites have transformed public transport use in Nottingham, substantially reducing traffic congestion.

Bath needs trams if it is to survive as an attractive, liveable city. The time for action is now – “building back better” after the pandemic demands a shift in government spending away from roads and into public transport.

Andrew Braddock ABOUT, by email