Metrolink to / from Etihad

[Winchester]

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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Oh yesssssss

 

[chesterbells]

Got a taxi in from Portland St yesterday, £8 for 4 of us.

Generally though, the message from this thread seems to be, if you’re able to walk, walk. It’s the way I get in most of the time.

 

[Vic]

You’ve got it easy compared to anyone having to catch one of the buses, why oh why they can’t count to a hundred, start loading that bus, then crack on with the next & so on, I don’t know, instead they just wait till that one is ready to go, there’s no reason why they couldn’t set 3 or 4 off straight away, yesterday the bus just crawled at 5mph behind all the fans (no doubt a reaction to the incident midweek) and everyone was shouting at the driver to get on with it

A few thousand more will be walking on the roads when they stop people street parking anywhere near the ground, delaying the buses even more.

(Are the "special" buses still being done as a commercial venture?)

 

[paulchapo]

You’ve got it easy compared to anyone having to catch one of the buses, why oh why they can’t count to a hundred, start loading that bus, then crack on with the next & so on, I don’t know, instead they just wait till that one is ready to go, there’s no reason why they couldn’t set 3 or 4 off straight away, yesterday the bus just crawled at 5mph behind all the fans (no doubt a reaction to the incident midweek) and everyone was shouting at the driver to get on with it

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!

 

[jimharri]

It's not so bad going to the ground; people arriving at different times in the couple of hours before kick off. After the game, though; absolute chaos. I tried it once; never again. I hike back into town after games now, whenever I'm fortunate enough to be over. Along with thousands of others. Too many people wanting to get the tram at the same time, andnot enough trams put on. And, of course, only the one "platform" to cater for that amount of people.

 

[BlueAnorak]

The whole organisation just smacks of a "We don't care" attitude. Instead of thinking, "Right we have 54,000 people attending an event at one location. We need to move as many of these people as swiftly and safely as possibly to and from the venue. That means adding extra capacity and tweaking our existing services, so trams going into Piccadilly station run through to the stadium and then turn around." they don't. They just run the normal service that is fine on non match days but not fit for purpose on a match day.

The reason for that is, apparantly, the power supply from Piccadilly to the Etihad isn't sufficient. I got a comment back from someone, possibly the club saying that this would be fixed during closure while HS2 was being completed. I guess they just now need to fix it.

 

[paulchapo]

The reason for that is, apparantly, the power supply from Piccadilly to the Etihad isn't sufficient. They said this would be fixed during closure while HS2 was being completed. I guess they now need to fix it.

Absolutely. They've got a concert venue plus another 6,000 football fans to contend with soon they need to get their finger out.

 

[BlueAnorak]

I give up with metrolink. Whoever is the operations manager should fuck off and manage a toy train set. We have a fast effective tram system but don't utilise it properly. At the moment we have the Ashton tram and I think the Eccles tram that goes to the stadium. They also put the odd special on, though I haven't seen many. We have the Altrincham tram that goes into Piccadilly station, why can't it carry on to the stadium and then turn around? Same with any Bury trams that run into Piccadilly station. They only have to run them to the ground from 12-3 pm going and 5-7 coming back. Instead of making it easy they make it chaotic and the trams are dangerously overcrowded as a result.

It had improved but yesterday was shocking I got to Ashton West at 14:17 only for there to be no trams to Manchester till 14:50. Missed Franny Lee memorial as a result and just got to my seat as the 2nd goal went in.
Pissed off.
As to the Bee app, it is shit compared to the Metrolink app. There need to be front end pages just for Metrolink journies.

 

[BlueAnorak]

Absolutely. They've got a concert venue plus another 6,000 football fans to contend with soon they need to get their finger out.

Absobloodylutely.
In the mean time they remove even more parking options near the ground just to piss City fans off even more.

 

[Mutineer]

I asked the Bee network why the passenger information signs are never or rarely working at Etihad Campus after the game. The reply; they intentionally turn them off “ as we sometimes have special services running which would confuse passengers due to the listing”
Surely better to try to inform so we know at least something like “will it be a double or a single so where best to stand on the platform?” “How long until the next tram?” so do I squeeze onto this or wait for the next one?”
To make a call just to give zero information in case it might be wrong is crazy.