Anyone else seen them yet? Seem to be running every day along Princes St, saw one at lunch time today. Very quiet and fast, quite impressive. Shame they don’t go along route I ever travel along more than a couple of times a year to the airport!

My Mum is already excited that she can* use her free bus pass on them 🙂

* allegedly

If only it was a proper tram system!

Trams going to Leith, Colinton, Morningside, Silverknowes, Infirmary, Newhaven, Gorgie, Marchmont etc would have been good.

See them quite often now, had begun to work out when/if I might use them, stopped after a very short period of time. The answer was no.

They are out practising driving.
I don’t get why it takes so long to train the drivers. Could they not have gone and learned some in Sheffield or Manchester, to shorten time from complete track to running?

Apologies but, rant on/

Are these the Trams that will only be of use to people travelling to and from the airport? But oh, wait, would they not just get a Taxi straight to their destination? Utter, Utter waste of money. I have seen them on the go and they seem to cause more congestion. For example, out at The Gyle the traffic lights installed for the trams to cross the road were causing big tailbacks the other day, and that was out with the rush hour.

Rant off/
Can you tell I’ve been in endless traffic jams for years due to this tram malarkey!

I think teh trams are awesumz.

Legend – weegie

They are out practising driving.
I don’t get why it takes so long to train the drivers. Could they not have gone and learned some in Sheffield or Manchester, to shorten time from complete track to running?

I think they are more about getting the public used to trams, as well as training the drivers.

Can you tell I’ve been in endless traffic jams for years due to this tram malarkey!

Maybe that means more people will use public transport or ride their bike instead of taking the car. Could be a good thing.

But oh, wait, would they not just get a Taxi straight to their destination?

If you’re paying for it maybe! A lot to get to the airport from town in a cab. The trams are apparently going to be slower than the airport bus though, which is daft.

jodafett – Member
Can you tell I’ve been in endless traffic jams for years due to this tram malarkey!

I take it your commute’s not suited to a bike?

a cabbie told me they were axing the airport bus but he could have been biased.

Looking at the route it should be good for the rugby fans as well for the airport. Can imagine myself using it, but the bus route is fast and cheap. If the trams are slower and more expensive it’s not such a great deal. Still a lot cheaper than a taxi though at anywhere from £20-30 from the centre.

The Airport Express bus is a brilliant service. Cheap, reliable, frequent, quick, clean buses and polite drivers. A problem that doesn’t need fixing.

the delays have been caused mainly by route training the drivers, that was the last i heard.
(slight bias, im a bus driver)

Daftest system, biggest waste of money, totally pointless! Unless it helps people move around the don’t build it. This doesn’t do that. As has been said – the Airport bus service is excellent.

The Airport Express bus is a brilliant service. Cheap, reliable, frequent, quick, clean buses and polite drivers. A problem that doesn’t need fixing.

Sadly this is very true. The decrease in exhaust fumes is the only positive I can think of wrt the airport service.

on other topic, saw a bit about the Borders railway, a chunk of cash spent to be sure but something that I can see a real benefit for.

Wish that’d been there when I worked for a summer in Dalkeith and commuted from Gala.

I take it your commute’s not suited to a bike?

I wish! I drive a van full of equipment.

Edit: and I’m nice to cyclists 🙂

As has been said – the Airport pretty much all of Lothian bus service is excellent.

Not so much a problem that didn’t need fixed as no problem to fix

It is a huge scandal. SOOOOO much money, so badly mismanaged.

All it does is replace the 22 bus (well, mostly).

LRT are a great bus service, Edinburgh has an excellent bus system, any problems are caused by the geography and heritage monuments.

I think somebody will get hurt. The pedestrian crossings over the tram lines along near my work are totally un-signed, no barriers, not even fat white lines.

Accident waiting to happen.

BigButSlimmerBloke – Member
As has been said – the Airport pretty much all of Lothian bus service is excellent.

+1

And adding shiny metal strips with grooves spot on the same width as your average commuter bike right in the middle of the road is really going to help encourage people to cycle more. Slipping/getting a wheel caught I don’t mind so much, it’s more the getting crushed immediately afterwards by the tram/bus tailgating you I’m worried about.

Should have been a guided busway to the city centre with a cycle ‘highway’ alongside.

I think somebody will get hurt. The pedestrian crossings over the tram lines along near my work are totally un-signed, no barriers, not even fat white lines.

Accident waiting to happen.

7 deaths predicted in the first year from their modelling I hear. People’ll get used to them though, other cities with trams get on just fine.

It is a huge scandal. SOOOOO much money, so badly mismanaged.

Surely you’re not suggesting that Edinburgh City Council are a bunch of criminal arseholes, with nothing at heart save for their own interests?

The Flying Ox – Member
It is a huge scandal. SOOOOO much money, so badly mismanaged.

Surely you’re not suggesting that Edinburgh City Council are a bunch of criminal arseholes, with nothing at heart save for their own interests?

Sounds like their counterparts along the M8 too…..

jodafett – Member

I drive a van full of equipment.

Are you sure you can’t just get away with a rucksack and a swiss army knife? No need to complain about lack of bike time then.

and I’m nice to cyclists

Mine’s a pint.

I would have more respect for criminal masterminds. This lot were just common or garden incompetent.

The whole thing is indeed a shambles, and I used to think that those running it should face criminal charges, until those interviews with them where they were saying how they were completely out of their depth and doing jobs they had no experience of, no experience of large project management etc

I do sympathise with the individuals themselves having worked in the civil and public services, where you just end up in a job you have no experience or interest in because that’s just how the system works, you move jobs every few years to something new. After a brief spell in the scottish exec I’m amazed anything happens at all in this country, just the most inefficient mess I’ve ever experienced, no one interested in their job, terrible.

Teehee bigjim I know just what you mean.

Having had a similar experience I used to wonder how Britain managed to win two world wars then I remembered. The Americans.

The trams debacle was fairly sizable contributor to my decision to leave Edinburgh after 12 years. Years of Leith Walk disruption for zero benefit, city centre dying on it’s arse, traffic now worse not better, lothian buses lumped in with trams to absorb the huge losses they’ll make every year, and the small fact that a council can burn a billion pounds of people’s money on something that nobody wants.

People should go to jail over this.

I think teh trams are awesumz.

Stockholder – Bilfinger Berger