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Overcrowding is big issue for West Midlands tram users

Overcrowding has been identified as the biggest bugbear for tram passengers in the West Midlands, according to a watchdog body.

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Passenger Focus carried out a survey of 556 passengers on the Midland Metro service, which runs from Wolverhampton to Birmingham.

The study found that most passengers were happy with the service, which compared favourably with other forms of public transport, but the biggest source of complaints surrounded a lack of space.

While the service was praised for the condition of its vehicles, punctuality and journey times, 30 per cent identified the lack of personal space as a problem and a quarter said they were dissatisfied with the availability of seating or standing areas.

Poll: Is public transport is the West Midlands and Staffordshire too overcrowded?

Two-thirds of passengers in the West Midlands said it represented satisfactory value for money, although 18 per cent thought the fares were too expensive.

Paul Griffiths, Metro programme director at public transport authority Centro, said he was pleased with the findings of the survey.

He added that a new £40 million fleet of larger trams would be running from the summer onwards, alleviating the problems with crowding.

The new trams will be a third bigger than the existing stock, able to carry around 210 passengers, compared to 156 on the current model.

"This, together with a frequency of 10 trams an hour, will increase overall capacity by 40 per cent, easing the overcrowding that sometimes occurs during peak times as a result of the Metro's popularity," he said.

Almost half of those questioned said they would use the trams more often were it not for the level of crowding on board.

And when asked what improvements they would like to see made to the service, more than half identified the lack of space as something which needed addressing.

The survey found that the typical tram user was a young person on their way to work.

Exactly half of Midland Metro passengers were under the age of 35, with just 17 per cent being aged over 60. Travelling to work was the biggest reason for people using the trams.

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