Nottingham

The latest (and given the appalling attitude of the government to public transport in general, and light rail in particular, perhaps the last) new system is in Nottingham. A job interview in Nottingham on 10th March 2004 gave me the opportunity (I thought) to photograph Nottingham's buses and the pending light rail system. I was more than pleasantly surprised to discover the trams were up and running, so not a single bus was photographed. Few trams were, as I had limited time and wanted to ride the system. All seemed fine and dandy, apart from the overcrowding, and some of the seats seemed rather oddly positioned. But I liked what I saw. If only the government could grasp the meaning of the phrase "PUBLIC transport" and see beyond the short-term costs of these systems to the long-term benefits.

Nottingham 208 waiting at the Station terminus for departure to the park and ride site at Phoenix Park. The interchange with the Railway Station is very good, being a short walk across a bridge

At the other end of the line, at Hucknall, is 212. I didn't have time to check out the distance from the tram terminus to Hucknall town centre, so I can make no comment. Despite the railing, this view was better than from the other side of the tram due to light conditions (highlighted by the brightness of the electronic indicator reflected on shiny new tram).

At the Beastmarket stop in central Nottingham (with a very handily located travel shop behind) is 215, en route to Hucknall.

Two years later I returned to Nottingham, principally to photograph the buses, but I wasn't going to ignore the trams. Indeed, I started with a tram ride from Hucknall to Nottingham. 207 is seen arriving at Hucknall.

Tram 206 is seen in the Old Market Square, heading for Hucknall. The trams seemed to be just as busy in April 2006 as they were in 2004.

My wanderings took me to Bulwell. 210 is seen approaching Bulwell Station en route to Hucknall.

Nottingham

Nottingham 208 waiting at the Station terminus for departure to the park and ride site at Phoenix Park. The interchange with the Railway Station is very good, being a short walk across a bridge

A short time was spent at The Forest stop, where the platform layout allows photos such as this of 205 approaching form the city.

Heading the opposite way was 209, in a horrible all over advert. Why do bus and tram operators insist on using contravision adverts, which restrict the outward vision of passengers so much?

209 and 203 are seen at Nottingham Station Street stop.