People would'nt fare dodge if it was'nt so expensive

Metrolink should have conductors, like the systems in Sheffield and Nottingham, rather than treating all passengers as potential fare dodgers. They could act as both a visual face for the company, as well as provide passenger safety (paticularly at night) and information, both of which often lack at present.

i think the metrolink system is an absolute disgrace. i use the system regularily and am sick and tired of trams breaking down, long delays and rude and unpleasant staff. the amount of times i have been stood at a tram stop and had to wait a long time for a tram with no information available to passengers is far too high, just last week i got the tram on a friday evening, the tram then stopped for 15 mins just out of victoria station, no explanation or apology was offered from the driver as he tried to rectify the fault. customer service is non existant with serco.the trams are poorly maintained and often extremely dirty, the ticket machines regularily do not work or swallow your money when they do. i think its time the city council relieved serco of the tram contract but it seems they will continue with this profits before customers company with the planned extension of the network. shame on you serco!

metrolink is a disgraceful service. daily delays and disruption, very rude and unfriendly staff, extortionate prices, dirty trams and stations, broken ticket machines, lack of clear information for passengers, need i go on. shame on you serco!

Agree absolutely with both comments already made. The tram operates a pricing structure that, while being extremely good value for concession rates, is extremely expensive for all normal fare passengers.

The fact that the company operates these fares through a machine only serves to increase the annoyance at a faceless organisation.

Returning form London about a fortnight ago I needed to get the tram from Picadilly to Sale. Within two stops security guards had entered the carriage and, upon encoutering a fare dodger, engaged in a prolonged bout of tugging and pulling in order to remove the individual (who would then presumable get on the nexttram to complete his journey). I might have thought the situation to have been funny were it not such a poor advert for the city and, in reality, a quite intimidating display.

The fares and integration are a joke. A tram only season ticket to the city from Altrincham is B#674.80. From Hucknall to Nottingham Station, same distance, is B#365, and includes all City buses.
Similarly, an all day ticket (including peak), valid on all buses and trams in Nottingham is B#2.20.
An All day ticket TRAM ONLY on metrolink for this journey is B#5 (including peak). B#2.80 more, but not valid on buses! The Nottingham Network is truely integrated and much better value. No wonder Mancunians dodge these unfair fares! (Nottingham also has conductors, making travel much safer and secure)

As an ex student in Sheffield and now working in Altrincham I've seen both systems first hand, and Metrolink comes a very poor second.

Having conductors on the Trams would be a start in making them slightly more bearable, and they would be a lot more preferable to the hated inspectors treating you like vermin.

All the Trams are always filthy and are quite literally a disgrace. God knows what visitors to the city think if they ever use one. Expensive and horrible is the only way to sum up the Metrolink if you have to use it on a regular basis.

as an ex-inspector, i think i have more insight into the problems of metrolink. 1st of all inspectors.the comments of various people about inspectors behaviour is way out of line. all the passenger sees is 1 incident on 1 tram at 1 particular time.these people would not last two minutes of the abuse the inspectors take.getting spat on, punched, kicked and verbally assaulted is no fun, believe you me.on average an inspector will travel on 30-40 trams per day.if you average that out at around 50 people per tram, that gives us 1500-2000 passengers a day per inspector. divide that by the "company's" evasion rate of 4% and you get 45-50 fare evader per day per inspector. over 75% of these are regular dodgers who look on being caught as an occupational hazzard.the great majority of these evaders are verbally abusive. probably 5-10 of them actually assault the inspector in some way, pushing, shoving or spitting on them. no one should take this abuse. if you look at real figures, anyone within the revenue dept will tell you that on a friday evening on the altrincham line, fare evasion can reach 90% and that is no joke. you stand with 4 other inspectors and take on 60-70 fare evaders on one tram. if you see someone being physically removed from a tram, there is a reason behind it. it is NOT done lightly.we would all love to live in a society where everyone was willing to pay their way. we dont. and because we dont, we need inspectors. putting them on trams as conductors is less than viable.there are 40 inspectors now, they would need 2 per tram, from 5am-1.30am thats 100 inspectors to cover the system fully, allowing for days off etc. who will pay for this? you? me? the government? no way.
then the fares. serco do not set the fares. GMPTE set the fares. they also own all the rolling stock and the tracks, stations etc. serco receive a set amount every year to run the system.GMPTE are ultimatley responsible for all funding. serco also receive no money from the fares. none at all. the trams and the lines are maintained as well as they can be, given the funding provided. do you want a more reliable system? do you want better maintained trams? do you want cleaner stations? better ticket machines? do you want cheaper fares? more inspectors? less fare evasion? someone has to pay, and i bet you dont want it to be you. stop banging on about serco and metrolink. start hassling the purse holders, GMPTE.who elected them? who are they? who are they responsible to? how much do they make profit and where do the profits go?
the buck stops with GMPTE
finally, if you see and inspector having trouble with someone, dont automatically assume the inspector is bullying someone into a fine. put yourself in their shoes. they are not bouncers. they are male and female, from 18yrs old to over 50 yrs old. mums, dads, sons and daughters. remind you of anyone? yep, they are just like us, its just their job is harder.

I have read all the above comments, as well as the article. All I would like to say is, if you people are so unhappy with the service metrolink provide, DONT USE IT! As a regular tram user I have seen first hand the abuse and threatening behaviour the inspectors have to deal with. Could any of you handle that? I doubt that very much. They always act in a professional manner and try there best to deal with the majority of these fare dodgers, who are out for a free ride and to cause trouble. They are a credit to their job and make the system as safe as they can. I for one am glad of their presence. Yes there are problems with the system, but as mentioned, the money stops with the GMPTE, not serco. This doesnt detract from the amount of abuse, both verbal and physical, that the inspectors have to deal with. If it wasnt for all fare dodging passengers, Your (the fare paying passenger) fares would probably be cheaper. Instead of getting on their backs, we should be supporting, what is undoubtedly an extremely difficult and dangerous job. Its a sad fact of society today, that it is the people trying to protect revenue and instill safety (the inspectors) that are being called and moaned at! What about the fare dodgers who threaten and spit at them? Who pull knives out and throw bricks at them? Who, ultimately, are laughing at us lot, the fare paying passengers!! So grow up all you moaners, realise how hard the job is, and if you do have such strong negative opinions.....simple.....DONT USE THE TRAM!

Personally i hate the metrolink. It goes with all the other transport in the city, in being expensive unreliable, and bad quality. Probably the most annoying thing about the metrolink is the Paying system. It is expensive, and more often than not the machines dont take notes. So to get anywhere it requires you to have a pocketful of pound coins to hand. Just last week, i went to get a weekly ticket from the travelshop on piccadilly. I was told i could not have one without a passport photo. So then i had to go to the shop to get some change for the machine. When i got out of the shop i had missed my tram, and was late for work. Is it any wonder people dont pay!!.

I work in Manchester and pay over B#60 a month to get to work. I never get a seat, so I pay over B#60 a month to stand and be squashed. Metrolink have said on their website that due to the new number of inspectors, fare dodging is now done and they are able to reduce their prices. To whom? It seems to be that it is cheaper to travel in comfort off peak, but in peak hours we are overly charged for being packed in like sardines. Is there a legal amount of people one tram can carry, the buses used to only let the maximum on. Metrolink dont seem to care for passenger safety. I would also like to point out that last Sunday I passed two inspectors wondering round roads near a station in the sunshine. Obviously, not working. Come on Metrolink rethink your price plans and stop punishing those who have to get on your cramped, unsafe trams in peak hours.

Nottingham transport is the worst in Britain in my opinion. Get back to Nottingham and stop complaining about the excellent transport links this city has.

I think the metrolink is a good service, every buisness has problems.Too many people complain about the service being rubbish, but if there was no trams how would they get to work, shopping,ect.I see people treat the tram inspectors as if they are not humans, they have got to understand there just doing a job. I had a fall out with one of the inspectors a big fat lesbian one, who was rude to me but i just make sure i have my ticket now and get on without any hasle, thats the best thing to do, BUY A TICKET TO SAVE EMBARACEMENT!

i workfor the metrolink, and the amount of abuse i get everyday is unbelivable., not only of passengers but off staff too. come on people give me a brake!