Giggleberrys Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 Down 5% apparently Isle of Man horse tram passenger numbers have fallen for the first time in four years, according to a report by Douglas Borough Council. According to the report, 53,318 passengers were carried along Douglas promenade during the 2012 season, which is about 5% fewer than in 2011. Councillor Stephen Pitts said: "Given the appalling weather and economic downturn the figures were anticipated." The season was extended by one week in 2011 for the Commonwealth Youth Games. Mr Pitts said that despite the conditions the figures were "roughly on a par with those for 2010 when the service last operated for the traditional 18-week period". In September 6,820 passengers used the service, which was a 22% increase on the previous year. "We are very encouraged by September's figures and firmly believe that the service still holds a special place in people's hearts," he added. In 2011 the horse trams celebrated their 135th anniversary and featured in television programmes in Germany, Japan and the Netherlands as well as starring in Michael Portillo's BBC show Great British Railway Journeys. At a time when there is such a downturn in numbers you can bet "they" now go cap in hand to tynwald to ask for £millions to redevelop the track when there clearly isnt the passenger demand they are bound to put in their fantasy projections. I think that Douglas Corpy really need to reconsider their "open rails" policy which really isnt working and could well lead to a massive orange supertram coming over and making one return trip a day up and down the prom at inconventient times but with prices so low that everyone uses it.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trmpton Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 Weather was crap, it's hardly a surprise people didn't use the trams. If anything I am surprised it was only 5% down. I would be surprised if other seasonal businesses like the ice cream shop, nobles park cafe etc only saw a 5% reduction on last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manxie44 Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 Down 5% apparently Isle of Man horse tram passenger numbers have fallen for the first time in four years, according to a report by Douglas Borough Council. According to the report, 53,318 passengers were carried along Douglas promenade during the 2012 season, which is about 5% fewer than in 2011. Councillor Stephen Pitts said: "Given the appalling weather and economic downturn the figures were anticipated." The season was extended by one week in 2011 for the Commonwealth Youth Games. Mr Pitts said that despite the conditions the figures were "roughly on a par with those for 2010 when the service last operated for the traditional 18-week period". In September 6,820 passengers used the service, which was a 22% increase on the previous year. "We are very encouraged by September's figures and firmly believe that the service still holds a special place in people's hearts," he added. In 2011 the horse trams celebrated their 135th anniversary and featured in television programmes in Germany, Japan and the Netherlands as well as starring in Michael Portillo's BBC show Great British Railway Journeys. At a time when there is such a downturn in numbers you can bet "they" now go cap in hand to tynwald to ask for £millions to redevelop the track when there clearly isnt the passenger demand they are bound to put in their fantasy projections. I think that Douglas Corpy really need to reconsider their "open rails" policy which really isnt working and could well lead to a massive orange supertram coming over and making one return trip a day up and down the prom at inconventient times but with prices so low that everyone uses it.......... Do your thoughts apply to the Airport as well, where there are falling figures every month it seems, and where the Government have ploughed vast amounts of money over recent years. Huge amounts are being spent on our roads which are falling apart due to the amount of traffic these days. Would you agree to a 50% increase in Road Tax to help pay for this. There is money being spent badly all over the place. Why just pick on the horse trams. Remove the cars from the prom and pedestrianise it. This should be possible as the Government have in recent years poured massive amounts into a 'Ring Road', around Douglas. Force people to use it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey boy Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 What we need is an extension of the line out into the sea & a fence around the line to prevent terrorist attacks. We then need a roof over every stop to prevent passengers having to unload their bags in the rain. A new control system in a new purpose built facility will complete the job. If we do all this it will definitely reverse the trend - there is absolutely no chance that passenger numbers will continue to drop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisenchuk Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 I'll ask Cllr Pitts to propose a sub sea horse tram tunnel to the adjacent Isle,that should do the trick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homarus Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 A Seahorse tram ,I'd like to see that one ! Would they pull themselves ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisenchuk Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 A Seahorse tram ,I'd like to see that one ! Would they pull themselves ? Scoop!...Douglas Council invest ratepayers funds in futuristic self propelled transport system (including patent application for perpetual motion device) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jefferson Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 One problem is that tourists get onto the promenade, and have no idea where to get on board the tram. They assume - based on common sense - that the tram will let them get on board at the first bus stop on the promenade. However, certain jobsworth tram drivers won't stop for them there, and ignore them. With most of our tourists being elderly, they are unable to run like hell to the actual horse tram embarkation point, nor will the tram driver stop to wait for them, and so they end up missing it. I have encountered numerous elderly tourists this year who were eagerly trying to get onto a horse tram but were unsuccessful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
credente Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 Would they pull themselves ? I've heard that a number of councillors do exactly that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheesypeas Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 Economic growth opportunity. Dog food factory, next to the felt museum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blade Runner Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 Do your thoughts apply to the Airport as well, where there are falling figures every month it seems, and where the Government have ploughed vast amounts of money over recent years. Huge amounts are being spent on our roads which are falling apart due to the amount of traffic these days. Would you agree to a 50% increase in Road Tax to help pay for this. There is money being spent badly all over the place. Why just pick on the horse trams. Remove the cars from the prom and pedestrianise it. This should be possible as the Government have in recent years poured massive amounts into a 'Ring Road', around Douglas. Force people to use it I would support a 50% increase in road tax if it was ring-fenced to actually be spent improving the main roads. We pay very little in comparison to other places and we complain about the state of the roads, you cant have it both ways. The Ring Road around Douglas has seen a lot of money spent on it and it generally is the quickest way to get from A to B across the capital but judging by its quiet state, not many motorists seem to even know about it, let alone use it. The average motorist seems intent on heading into central Douglas, often through the Quaterbridge roundabout bottleneck, to get to where they want to go. Maybe an advertising campaign is needed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirstabby Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 Numbers are out by at least two. Me and a friend took a horse tram one way and it was only the next day that we found out that you were supposed to pay for it. I wonder if during the winter they could attach horns to the horses' heads, wire a few of them up in series, and have them pulling a special santa sleigh tram. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manx1e44 Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 Where is this 'ring road'? Maybe should put horse trams on it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisenchuk Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 Do your thoughts apply to the Airport as well, where there are falling figures every month it seems, and where the Government have ploughed vast amounts of money over recent years. Huge amounts are being spent on our roads which are falling apart due to the amount of traffic these days. Would you agree to a 50% increase in Road Tax to help pay for this. There is money being spent badly all over the place. Why just pick on the horse trams. Remove the cars from the prom and pedestrianise it. This should be possible as the Government have in recent years poured massive amounts into a 'Ring Road', around Douglas. Force people to use it I would support a 50% increase in road tax if it was ring-fenced to actually be spent improving the main roads. We pay very little in comparison to other places and we complain about the state of the roads, you cant have it both ways. The Ring Road around Douglas has seen a lot of money spent on it and it generally is the quickest way to get from A to B across the capital but judging by its quiet state, not many motorists seem to even know about it, let alone use it. The average motorist seems intent on heading into central Douglas, often through the Quaterbridge roundabout bottleneck, to get to where they want to go. Maybe an advertising campaign is needed? Here is the Parkers UK Road tax calculator,just type in your vehicle details and click find,we're already fairly close to the UK prices. http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/advice/road-tax-guide/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldmanxfella Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 Do your thoughts apply to the Airport as well, where there are falling figures every month it seems, and where the Government have ploughed vast amounts of money over recent years. Huge amounts are being spent on our roads which are falling apart due to the amount of traffic these days. Would you agree to a 50% increase in Road Tax to help pay for this. There is money being spent badly all over the place. Why just pick on the horse trams. Remove the cars from the prom and pedestrianise it. This should be possible as the Government have in recent years poured massive amounts into a 'Ring Road', around Douglas. Force people to use it I would support a 50% increase in road tax if it was ring-fenced to actually be spent improving the main roads. We pay very little in comparison to other places and we complain about the state of the roads, you cant have it both ways. The Ring Road around Douglas has seen a lot of money spent on it and it generally is the quickest way to get from A to B across the capital but judging by its quiet state, not many motorists seem to even know about it, let alone use it. The average motorist seems intent on heading into central Douglas, often through the Quaterbridge roundabout bottleneck, to get to where they want to go. Maybe an advertising campaign is needed? Have you taxed a car here recently? More specifically have you unwittingly tried to import an older car in from the UK recently? The rates are now in excess of the UK in some categories if they catch you under emissions (if you can understand the deliberately confusing info on the IOMG website) - to drive on Europes shittest roads. Shooting the horses would be a more cost effective solution. I wouldn't pay one penny more to ruin my tyres and suspension on our shitty highways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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