Improved public transport in this case is all about minimising traffic congestion by providing an attractive alternative to vehicle use. However improved public transport costs money. It has to be subsidised by the taxpayer.

ENT are not aware of a tram system anywhere in the world which does not depend on a subsidy to make it profitable. NET have continued to claim that the proposed CW route will be profitable and pass the Government's economic test. Yet when NET were asked about the level of continued subsidy required for the system to be profitable they side-stepped the question.

If we are honest all public transport requires a subsidy. Surely the issue is not just which tram route is more cost effective, but which system is more cost effective. Tram systems appear to cost 10 times more than a bus based system but will a tram system attract ten times as many users?

Line One and the two further proposed lines will cost in excess of £450m (last known estimate), but where are the paying customers going to come from?