Sheffield Supertram revenues down 10.2%

REVENUES at Sheffield Supertram, the light rail transport system for the city, are down 10.2% to £11.4m. Revenues have been falling over recent years. It had fallen by nearly 30% since 2008/09, when it generated £16.2m.

Journeys are up 0.6% but vehicle occupancy decreased on both the Sheffield Supertram and London Tramlink due to engineering works resulting in part closures of the lines.

Sheffield’s Supertram has been undergoing a £32m improvement project.

Stagecoach told the BBC: “When we began operating Supertram services in 1997, the network was a drain on the public purse – we have turned the service into a profitable business which no longer relies on public funds and is depended upon by millions of people every year.

“Alongside South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive, we have just completed a vital three-year programme of investment work to help maintain the network for decades to come.

“This work resulted in a number of temporary changes to our network and has included bus replacement services operating instead of trams at various times on parts of the network over the past three years.

“Since this work finished there has been a significant increase in the number of passenger journeys.

“Sheffield benefits from a good public transport network and customers have a choice of integrated tram, bus and rail services, so it is clear that people will use different modes of transport at different times depending on their specific requirements.”

This comes following the news last month that the Government had cut down plans for a trolleybus scheme in Leeds.