Metrolink to / from Etihad

paulchapo said:
Metrolink say they have come up with the solution to crowded trams going to and from the Etihad stadium. The head of metrolink, Danny Vaughn, said by allowing passengers to ride on the roof they provide a unique exhilarating experience and a chance to experience Greater Manchester weather in the raw. It also allows trams to carry more passengers and will add to the atmosphere for match going fans.

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Looks like it’s empty compared to the Metrolink on match day. Lucky bastards travelling in such comfort .
 
My personal preference is walking because it’s nice to clear my head after two intense hours. Even if just up to The Halfway House or The Grove in Clayton to work up a thirst for that pint of Crystal Gold.

I appreciate not everyone is physically able to but just getting out and away from the ground with maybe some music on is a way to wind down. Football is an emotional game.
 
paulchapo said:
The buses are quicker to get away from the ground than waiting for a tram, but there are problems that could be addressed to make it quicker.

In spite of the barriers and loads of stewards supposedly there to control it it's often a shambles. That's because nobody leads the operation and most stewards stand around with no clue or interest as to what they're supposed to be doing. They've gone with one huge queue so as you say they fill the first bus up, then start to fill the second and so on. There is usually somebody walking the queue trying to count numbers but it's not accurate. They need to count the numbers, put a barrier there, count numbers for the next bus, barrier there and so on. Get the buses filled up quickly and away.

Paying by cash. This needs to stop as it holds up things even more as in spite of it being £2 for a while now people still don't seem to know and fuck about sorting their money out. If they're going to allow cash then get somebody walking the queues selling tickets to speed it up.

Halfwits walking in the road. Those pavements are pretty wide I've walked on them, but in spite of that hundreds persist in walking in the road. Not only that but they're either oblivious a huge bus is right up their arse, or choose to be an arsehole and refuse to move. If they do move it's grudgingly. How anybody hasn't been killed so far is a miracle. You've chosen to walk, allow the people who've chosen the bus to get past.

Rant over.....for now lol!

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Spot on mate, I don’t normally use them but we had the little fella with us yesterday, like you say paying with cash holds things up, but so does paying on the bus, maybe they could have a mobile system where you tap on like the trams then you’re free to jump on a bus, with a separate one for cash, sounds like a return to bus conductors I know but there’s got to be a better way than the current system, yesterday we had an ol’ fella on crutches walking in the middle of the road in front of the bus!
 
Like others I have written to the Metrolink people about the dangerous overcrowding but you just get the standard reply which doesn’t really make sense. I usually try and wait until the queues go down a bit but at a night match that runs the risk of not getting all the way back to Eccles. (I understand that they are now running later trams but think that’s only at weekends and night matches are usually mid-week)
With my mobility issues unfortunately (not being a martyr just stating facts) I need to be able to sit down and so have had to let trams go in the past. I do wait for the Eccles tram as it saves changing.
 
paulchapo said:
The buses are quicker to get away from the ground than waiting for a tram, but there are problems that could be addressed to make it quicker.

In spite of the barriers and loads of stewards supposedly there to control it it's often a shambles. That's because nobody leads the operation and most stewards stand around with no clue or interest as to what they're supposed to be doing. They've gone with one huge queue so as you say they fill the first bus up, then start to fill the second and so on. There is usually somebody walking the queue trying to count numbers but it's not accurate. They need to count the numbers, put a barrier there, count numbers for the next bus, barrier there and so on. Get the buses filled up quickly and away.

Paying by cash. This needs to stop as it holds up things even more as in spite of it being £2 for a while now people still don't seem to know and fuck about sorting their money out. If they're going to allow cash then get somebody walking the queues selling tickets to speed it up.

Halfwits walking in the road. Those pavements are pretty wide I've walked on them, but in spite of that hundreds persist in walking in the road. Not only that but they're either oblivious a huge bus is right up their arse, or choose to be an arsehole and refuse to move. If they do move it's grudgingly. How anybody hasn't been killed so far is a miracle. You've chosen to walk, allow the people who've chosen the bus to get past.

Rant over.....for now lol!

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They should move the buses to the City Link path that runs at the side of the tram lines and close it to pedestrians.

Create a new continuous City Link alongside the tram tracks to Chapeltown Street and straight into the rear of Piccadilly Station.

Easy this traffic planning lark!
 
They should run the buses away from the ground on Alan Turing Way then into town along Ashton Old Road and Fairfield Street to Picc Station and then onto Picc Gardens. That way there will be less interaction between buses and pedestrians.
 
Paid one of rare visits to the Etihad on Saturday (very much an armchair fan these days due to living on the wrong side of the Pennines) was on a tram within ten minutes of joining the queue after the match. Things seem to have improved since last season. Still a joke getting on at Piccadilly, there needs to be trams that start from Piccadilly rather than Alty or wherever.
 
bewaresutekh said:
Paid one of rare visits to the Etihad on Saturday (very much an armchair fan these days due to living on the wrong side of the Pennines) was on a tram within ten minutes of joining the queue after the match. Things seem to have improved since last season. Still a joke getting on at Piccadilly, there needs to be trams that start from Piccadilly rather than Alty or wherever.
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It's very much hit and miss on the day. I'm sure somebody must put a matchday plan into operation but at times it doesn't feel that way.
No trams go directly to the stadium from Altrincham anymore. Aside from an Etihad special I think it's just the Eccles line that goes direct and obviously the Ashton tram. I caught an Etihad tram from Cornbook on Saturday but it had originated elsewhere as it was already busy when I joined it.
 
The bus back into town after the game looked like they were trying out the back bus goes first and counting fans and getting them on other buses in front.
Then we had the weird thing of rear buses reversing and going away first.
It was far better getting on the bus but no idea why they could not use the same system front to rear..
 
bennyboy said:
The bus back into town after the game looked like they were trying out the back bus goes first and counting fans and getting them on other buses in front.
Then we had the weird thing of rear buses reversing and going away first.
It was far better getting on the bus but no idea why they could not use the same system front to rear..
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The front bus broke down, and they had to go back to front
 
bewaresutekh said:
Paid one of rare visits to the Etihad on Saturday (very much an armchair fan these days due to living on the wrong side of the Pennines) was on a tram within ten minutes of joining the queue after the match. Things seem to have improved since last season. Still a joke getting on at Piccadilly, there needs to be trams that start from Piccadilly rather than Alty or wherever.
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No trams start from Alty mate unless there is engineering work on the Eccles line. What you have to do is to change at Cornbrook, getting off a double unit onto a single unit sometimes.

Metrolink are fucking clueless.
 
How did you get on yesterday?

Got on at Ashton West, 1 double unit (2 carriages), rammed with people still forcing themselves on at all the stops.

Coming back, top of SSL3, almost last out, got to tram stop, waited 5 mins, stood up but OK, really really slow getting back to Ashton West, arrived at 3:41pm.
 
There's minor changes to the Metrolink timetable in January. One of these changes is that the Altrincham to Piccadilly services are extended to Etihad Campus after the evening peak (when the Media City - Etihad service stops running) as preparation for when Co-op Live opens.
 
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