People living along the tracks at a Nottingham Park and Ride have said they "love" the trams right next to their homes. Residents around the Wilkinson Street Park and Ride in Basford have praised the tram stop, which they have said has made their lives easier since it was built.
All the NET tram Park and Ride sites are open seven days a week, and on Wilkinson Street there is also a depot where trams are stored and maintained. Locals said that they appreciated the convivence of the Park and Ride, and that they had not been negatively impacted by the stop.
Keane Hamilton, 59, who lives nearby in Basford, said that he 'loved' the tram network being so close to home. "I love the tram. It is the only way that I can get around really - for people that drive the car park must be good too.
Read more: Oyster-style contactless payment rolled out across Nottingham buses and trams
"I use the tram everyday, I'm going on it today to Clifton and then going on to Ruddington. It's close to home but I suppose there are a lot of people that don't make the most use of it being here."
Steve Wyer, 64, who works as a warehouse operative and lives on the Whitcombe estate, said: "It's very convenient living here. I'm using it to go to the Notts County match as I don't drive.
"It's very useful to get in and out, and on the other side you've got the bus route as well so the transport links are very good.
"It's not like a train where living next to it is loud and takes value off your house. I can't even hear it from where I live."
The first Oyster-style contactless ticketing system outside of London was recently announced across Nottingham buses and trams.
Keith Barnes, 68, who is retired and lives in Basford, said: "Life would be a lot harder without the trams being here. When I found out it was going to be built years ago I was looking forward to it.
"I use them quite a lot. I don't drive so it I'm always on and off of them.
"I use it everyday, lots of people get on it frequently - even people without tickets or with dogs. It's made a big difference to people living here."
Another local, who did not want to be named, added: "I prefer taking the tram to the bus since this was put here. It makes it a lot easy to get into the city centre for work."
It was recently found that consultants could be paid under £150,000 to offer Nottingham City Council advice around Nottingham’s tram network. This comes after passenger numbers on the network have struggled to return to pre-pandemic levels.
Nottingham City Council is concerned that government financial support could end and needs to ensure the network is adequately funded in the future. Tramlink, which operates and maintains the network on behalf of the council, recorded a 23.4 per cent fall in underlying operational turnover in the 12 months to March 31, 2021.
