Blackpool & Fleetwood Tramway: Confused.tram on Sunday 21st July 2024

This is Podbaba Transport's 600th video - a huge welcome to you!
Sunday 21st July 2024 was the date of Fleetwood Tram Sunday and, for once, the weather was fine.
CONFUSED.tram!!!!.......
An experimental tram timetable was in operation with all trams running via Blackpool North Railway Station but all of the tram stops showed the T1,T2,T3 services that have been running since mid June 2024.
To confound the issue, trams were showing a whole variety of confusing destinations or no destinations at all.
The service worked very well but there seemed to have been no planning and certainly no instructions to tram crews.
There should have been no "T" numbers at all and trams should have been showing
"Starr Gate via North Station" or "Fisherman's Walk via North Station" but only a handful of trams showed this scrolling display.
Instead, northbound trams at North Pier were showing..
"Fisherman's Walk" or "T2 North Station" then "T3 Fleetwood Ferry" or a blank destination.
Southbound trams at North Pier were showing "Starr Gate" or "T3 North Station" then "T2 Starr Gate" or "North Station".
The confusion caused was photographed as many people left a southbound tram at Talbot Square walked across only to catch the same tram again on the Promenade when they could have stayed onboard!
Trams in service were:
001 002 006 008 011 014 015 016AD 017 018
Promenade special: 007
"B fleet" balloon 718 ran to Fleetwood with the heritage
shop on board.
Heritage trams were: Bolton 66 600 631 700 723
We will reiterate that this service works, operationally, very well indeed but caused no end of confusion to customers arriving unexpectedly in Talbot Square. Tram crews could have explained what was going on!
We would certainly recommend this service as the permanent tram service if properly advertised and with proper destination displays.
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a Podbaba Transport presentation
Sunday 21st July 2024

[@mandywarhol1126]

I love the Blackpool tram! All the best from the tram city of Bremen/Germany!

[@StevenHughestransportvideos]

Cracking video as always Michael, the revised service pattern certainly seemed well received from passengers and made the extension come alive too with trams every few minutes up and down Talbot Road. As you say, this being the full time service pattern cant come soon enough.

[@heinzer69-f3u]

Most of the trams looked rammed with passengers- I think this extension is a roaring success, fare income wise!

[@podbabatransport7515]

@@heinzer69-f3u the extension has got to be a huge success. Today's operation with everything via North Station is an out and out successful operation. It would have been even better had tram crews known what to show on destinations and had the service been properly publicised. The sooner the day to day service changes to this pattern, the better!

[@laticsprem]

​@@podbabatransport7515Makes a lot more sense.No waiting for the " correct" tram.

[@lincolnblackcat]

Every aspect from timetabling & required resources to the incomplete terminus itself gives the impression that they were somewhat caught off guard that the extension was finally going to open after protracted delays. The business case actually discounted “All Via North Station” and I have to say I question the logic in it been used as anything other than a short-term sticky plaster. To justify retention of the Tramway it needs to move towards realising the frequency outlined in the upgrade business case & subsequent extension business case. It needs to start quickly achieving them figures and that can only be achieved by actually having capacity on track (not simply sat in the shed)

[@podbabatransport7515]

@@lincolnblackcat but the point I was and am making was that, apart from a few glitches on destination displays and timetable displays, the service worked much better with everything via the station. Agreed, the justification for two additional trams (017 & 018) was made on the grounds of a much more frequent service but the customer numbers at the time were pre- covid19. As more and more people use the Tramway, I am sure the service frequency will increase. Simply running a much greater frequency in the hope that numbers will come back is, absolutely definitely, folly!

[@podbabatransport7515]

You must also remember that a business case is always based on value judgments (best guesses) before reality. Blackpool Transport in the post Covid world must make its business case on real figures and feedback. They are doing an excellent job through a very professional senior management team.