By Harry Mottram: New Prime Minister Andy Burnham has indicated he will back the Metro Mayor’s plans for a mass transit system for Bristol and Bath with Government funding. Mayor for the West of England Combined Authority Helen Godwin has said she wants there to be a public transport system for the region linking Bristol, Bath and even Bristol Airport with trams and integrated bus services to the main towns and transport hubs.
Speaking to Bristol Live’s chief reporter Tristan Cork, on a visit to Bristol this week the PM said: “I recognise that this part of the world needs much better public transport and that would include mass transit. A city like Bristol should have a mass transit system, so I am completely open to supporting Helen in that. I think some initial funding has been given to start the work to look at options. The West of England got three-quarters of a billion pounds, which I think is the most ever and a sign of our commitment.
“But more would be needed, obviously, to deliver mass transit. Yes, in the long run I want to put that investment in so that all cities have integrated, functioning public transport, supporting people into jobs and growing the economy. The evidence from Greater Manchester is really clear, we had a decade of above average growth partly because we had a transport system that could support a growing economy. If you want growth you have to make the investment to get it. Helen’s got my full support, she’s doing a brilliant job, I will want to work closely with her to see how we can lay down a plan to bring mass transit to the West of England and particularly to Bristol.”
Tristan Cork reported the Government will fund ‘the billions needed for a mass transit system for Bristol, Bath and the West of England.’ The Metro Mayor had received around £750 million for transport investment and improvements from Keir Starmer’s administration which was not enough for a tram system like the ones in Manchester and Edinburgh. Bath and Bristol are the only city region in England without an existing mass transit system – and clearly with the growth in traffic and population needs one.
Older readers will recall both Bristol and Bath had trams before the Second World War. Bath’s trams disappeared back in 1939 although they had been in decline before that. They first ran as horse drawn trams on a 4ft gauge track from 1880 switching to electric powered trams at the turn of the century. The Bath Tramways Company was taken over by the Bath Electric Tramways Company in 1903 but in the 1930s the firm began replacing the trams with buses in age when there were few cars on the roads. They ran from a depot off Walcot Street and had lines to most parts of the city including Bathford, Combe Down, Weston, Oldfield Park and even Newton St Looe.
Politicians come and go and often make promises which turn out to be ‘aspirational’ rather than realistic – so we must wait and see if trams linking the two cities and the airport comes to pass.
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