BUS vs TRAM

Transport firm bosses at odds over extension to city's network

- By OLIVER PRIDMORE

A WAR of words has broken out between the boss of bus firm Trentbarton and the chief of Nottingham's trams.

A study is taking place into where the NET tram network could be expanded to but Trentbarton MD Tom Morgan says buses could achieve the same goals at a fraction of the cost.

Tim Hesketh, chief executive of Tramlink, said he was "disappointed" by the comments and that a tram extension would help the city to "thrive".

THE boss of a major local bus company says he and other operators are fighting plans for an extension of the city’s “loss-making” tram network.

A £300,000 study was recently commissioned into the best locations for the NET network to expand to in a significant step forward following years of discussion.

But Tom Morgan, who has been the managing director of Trentbarton for the last two years, says the bus network could achieve the same goals at a fraction of the price.

Mr Morgan told the Post: "Even the tram’s own figures [show] it's not a sustainable business model.

"It loses money every year. Why would you want to do more of something that’s so clearly loss-making when it’s currently being achieved by something that costs the taxpayer nothing at all?"

The Nottingham tram network's boss says Mr Morgan's comments are “disappointing” and that he believes a diverse public transport network with lots of options is in everyone’s best interests.

The East Midlands Combined Authority (EMCCA), the devolved authority covering Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, led by East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward, was the organisation that recently commissioned the major tram study.