Access to Birmingham’s biggest venues on Westside has never been easier, according to civic chiefs who today hailed the tram extension up Broad Street a resounding success.
Congestion-free parking along the tram route, with easy access to and from events via cheap travel, have now made the West Midlands Metro as an effective park-and-ride service.
The tram means visitors attending events as venues such as the Utilita Arena, which can regularly attract crowds of more than 15,000, can now evade frustrating traffic queues in and out of nearby car parks.
Six months after the tram extension became operational, Westside BID has celebrated the usefulness of the Metro with the launch of a video that shows the route from St Paul’s in the Jewellery Quarter via Snow Hill, New Street and Centenary Square to Edgbaston Village. Watch the video here:
West Midlands mayor Andy Street and Cllr Liz Clements, the cabinet member for transport at Birmingham City Council, are featured in the video using the tram.
Mr Street said: “The tram now serves Westside 18 hours a day and it runs every ten minutes in the daytime so it’s very reliable.
“It’s also green and clean so you can leave your car at home and the tickets are very competitively priced.
“The great thing is that it connects direct to the city centre to New Street, to Snow Hill and then right out to the Black Country so almost wherever you are in the conurbation, you can use the tram to take you to the heart of Westside.”
Cllr Clements added: “It’s so important that we’ve got that connection up to Westside. If you’re coming to the arena for an event, you can do it quickly and easily without having to worry about parking and get away quickly as well. You’re saving time and making your life easier.
“I’m a big fan of trams. I think they’re transformational for Birmingham, particularly the city centre and Westside. The fact that you can come out of New Street now and get straight on the tram up to Centenary Square and along to Hagley Road is just brilliant.
“I really look forward to the extension into a full network of trams across the city and the whole region. It’s modern and slick and it’s a completely different level of public transport so please try it if you haven’t already – you’ll be surprised at what a wholly different experience it is.”
