Latest news with #rapidtransit
BBC News
5 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Liverpool's new public transport 'not a bus', mayor says
People have had a first look at the latest additions to a city's public transport network - amid fierce debate over what to call have started on Liverpool's roads to see how the new "rapid transit vehicles" will handle things like roundabouts when they start carrying passengers in have described the 59ft (18m) vehicles as "bendy buses" and have said they do not compare with Manchester's Metrolink tram metro mayor Steve Rotheram insisted the vehicle on show this week was a "trackless tram", adding: "If you take the tyres off and put it on rails, it's a tram." Rotheram added: "It doesn't feel like a bus inside because a bus doesn't have the headroom. "It's a very different type of vehicle – it's got three sets of doors, so people can get on and off quickly and its 30% bigger than a double decker bus."In Belfast the vehicles are called gliders. Their official name is rapid transit they have seating and standing areas, dark mustard-coloured padded seats and a grey floor flecked with gold other cities with rapid transit networks, passengers buy their tickets before boarding, speeding journeys up. Initial routes will link Liverpool John Lennon airport with the city centre and Everton's new Hill Dickinson Belfast, gliders use dedicated lanes on the city's roads, and Rotheram said some infrastructure improvements would be needed to in Liverpool to accommodate the vehicles. He said roundabouts might need to be taken out to "make it easier for these very long vehicles to get through the narrow confines of some of the roads". He added: "We want some dedicated road space – not for the whole route, because that causes difficulties for cars, but we want it to have some space where it can make rapid progress and shorten the time people spend on public transport." Plans for a tram system in Liverpool date back decades, but they never came to fruition. The metro mayor said: "We should have had a tram – there should be trams running here now – but that was abandoned because the Lib Dem council in Liverpool didn't believe in it." The Liberal Democrats did run the city at the time the tram project was initially scrapped, but it was the Labour government which said it wouldn't fund the increased said a "future benefactor" may decide to give Liverpool "billions" to spend on a tram system and if that happened, the infrastructure for the tram would be boosted by the work going on to accommodate the gliders. What are people saying? Critics have claimed the rapid transit system is not ambitious enough, that Liverpool should have trams, and be bolder about prioritising public transport on the roads. Leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition on Liverpool City Council Carl Cashman said: "The fact we've got a bendy bus while Manchester gets more investment in their tram network says everything."Labour are prepared to allow Liverpool to play second fiddle to Manchester. "It's embarrassing that we've got a bendy bus, we need a tram." Leader of the Liverpool Community Independents Alan Gibbons said: "Where is the ambition? We should have been planning and building a Merseyrail extension to the airport and a tram system like the one in Manchester."But some members of the public who saw the branded vehicle for the first time were more who was on a visit to his home city from Dubai where he now lives, said he was impressed with the vehicles but didn't know what to call them. He said: "They are brilliant. "This is a great feature. I like how clean they are, and I like the bend in the middle. Even getting from South Parkway to the airport, you've got to get a taxi – so these will be brilliant."Rotheram added: "People haven't seen what this is, and they've heard this thing that it's just a bendy bus."Well go and ask the manufacturers who manufacture buses whether this a bendy bus, they'll tell you this is completely different. "Basically, if you take the tyres off and put it on rails, it's a tram."He added: "I'm not bothered if people call it a bendy bus, they can call it what they want."What I want people to do is experience it and then they can make their mind up." Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
CTV News
28-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
New details released of proposed hovercraft service between downtown Toronto and Niagara Region
A rendering of a hovercraft that an Ontario company says can travel from Toronto to Niagara Region in 30 minutes is seen here. (Hoverlink Ontario Inc.) New details are emerging about a proposed hovercraft service that aims to transport tourists and commuters alike across Lake Ontario between Toronto and Niagara Region in just 30 minutes. At an event at the Toronto Region Board of Trade on Wednesday, officials with Hoverlink Ontario explained how the service, which recently cleared a significant hurdle, will alleviate congestion along one of province's busiest highways and make it more attractive for people to travel to two of Ontario's largest tourist destinations. Last month, officials confirmed that a 30-year agreement had been signed with Ports Toronto, bringing the service one step closer to reality. Chris Morgan, the founder and CEO of Hoverlink, called the development 'the beginning of a new era of rapid transit.' 'This is not just a rapid transportation project. It is an economic development catalyst, a tourism accelerator,' he said. How will the service work? Passengers will travel by hovercraft between Billy Bishop Airport and a facility that will be built at Port Weller, St. Catharines. The total trip time is estimated to be 30 minutes. The amphibious vehicle is designed to travel over land, water, ice, and other surfaces. Blowers produce a large volume of air below the hull of the vessel to create an air cushion, allowing it to float 1.8 metres above the surface. Additional fans and propellers move the craft forward. Hovercrafts are currently used by the Canadian Coast Guard for rescue and icebreaking missions. Officials say that while the vessels have been used for decades to transport people in the United Kingdom, a similar passenger service does not yet exist in North America. 'We intend to make it a way of life here on Lake Ontario,' Erika Potrz, the president of Hoverlink Ontario, told CTV News on Wednesday. Who is the target market for the service? The company says both tourists and commuters will benefit from the Hoverlink. 'Hoverlink would allow Torontonians to quickly visit the wineries and the beautiful hinterland of Niagara-on-the-Lake, or unleash new possibilities for regional tourism, employment, and housing between Toronto and St. Catharines,' Morgan said. Operating at full capacity, the company says Hoverlink would result in 8,000 fewer cars on the QEW each day. When will the hovercraft service launch? No official timeline has been announced for the launch of service but Potrz said Hoverlink has done everything it can to facilitate getting the service up and running as soon as possible. How many passengers can the hovercraft hold? The craft can hold 180 passengers plus crew. How frequently will it run? The company says it is capable of making 48 trips daily and will operate 365 days a year. How much will it cost to ride the hovercraft? Ticket pricing has not been released but the company says it will be 'comparable to other existing ground public transit option fares in the region.' How will I get to my destination after I arrive at the Hoverlink terminal in St. Catharines? Potrz said Hoverlink will operate its own shuttle buses in St. Catharines with limited stops. It will take passengers to the Fallsview Hilton, downtown Niagara-on-the-Lake, Fort George, and Niagara College. 'We will invite some of our key partners to have their shuttle buses come and pick up folks,' she added. 'We are looking at how do we package up tickets with entities in Niagara Region, as well as in Toronto, to encourage and ensure that all of our businesses win.' Has this been tried before? There have been two previous attempts to connect Toronto to other regions via Lake Ontario, including a short-lived ferry service to Rochester, N.Y. and a previous project that used hydrofoils. 'People often say, 'This has tried before and it's failed,'' Potrz said. 'Failure predicates success.' She said the previous two attempts were 'marred with issues,' adding that there has 'never been anything like' the Hoverlink service on Lake Ontario before. 'They (previous projects) were marred with issues because the craft competency was not available. They were hydrofoils. Hydrofoils cross Lake Ontario maybe six months of the year, create a really uncomfortable experience for consumers, and they really are not competent to craft in all weather types,' she said. 'There was a ferry to Rochester, and that was predicated on cargo movement, very different than a commuter and tourism strategy. We have 40 million tourists between Niagara Region and Toronto. What a better market to launch a marine transit service into with a craft that is military grade.' Potrz said the company wants to make transportation 'fun again.' 'Somebody's coming in to see a concert at Live Nation, we are going to have a DJ on board. We are going to make this fun,' she said. 'There is going to be an experiential portion to what we do everyday to make sure people want to ride on the hovercraft.'
