West Midlands, UK Metro stops open at Pipers Row, Wolverhampton Railway Station

September 29, 2023

On September 17, two tram stops in the system opened in the, UK city centre:  and. Wikinews reporter Ash Thawley spoke with David Rock, a University of Birmingham student living in, after he rode the extension on September 17 from around 16:30 to 17:30.

The new segment, in the Metro's Zone 4, splits from an existing line after.

The terminus of that line,, is to remain in use, with "[e]very other Metro [terminating there] as part of a 'shopper's service'", according to the Midland Metro Alliance. The organisation cited the "convenient location close to Wolverhampton's shopping district" as a reason to keep that stop operational. The stop was to close until "later this autumn" for work, according to a press release from the West Midlands Metro.

The extension was originally to be finished in 2019, but faced delays.

The Metro said its service's extension to was now a focus.

Interview with Rock
How do you think this extension will impact the people who live [along] the Metro?

I think it makes the tram a more attractive option as there is now better integration of public transport. The was previously closest to Wolverhampton's train station but now the tram serves the station directly, so anyone living or working near the tram route now has a greater incentive to tram in rather than [ride] the bus if their onward journey includes.

There's currently the tram extension underway from to Brierley Hill, do you expect that that will have a big impact too?

Probably in absolute terms it will significantly contribute to the local economy, but I think proportionally not so much. already has good bus links to Wolverhampton and Birmingham, the tram line will not take a direct route to either of the big cities as it must pass through Wednesbury. One benefit of the tram is decreased impact of traffic, but the tram is much more expensive than the bus so I don't know how it will affect intra- journeys.

Do you think the fare price of the system is something the council should be mindful of?

Absolutely. Better is essential! Today I paid 5.00 for an all-zone day ticket on the tram only. On the train it costs between £5.20 and £6.90 for a return (or between £3.40 and £4.55 with a ) and takes approximately ⅓ of the time. As you can see, for Birmingham ↔ Wolverhampton journeys there is little incentive to take the tram. The main target market of the tram, though, is to serve communities between Wolverhampton and Birmingham such as and. An all-day bus pass costs £4.00 (or £2.00 for a single) so one would have to have a good reason to take the tram as it is more expensive than the bus at £4.10 for, [in] any two zones, [a] day ticket or £4.60 for any three zones. Better fare integration, such as a London-style would work better... this is what the  should be used for. Today I opted to buy just an all-day ticket on the tram, and I chose to walk seven miles to and from the tram stop as I didn't want to pay the extra money for a bus fare. Better integration might have meant I chose to spend a little more for the added convenience of a hop-on, hop-off network.

'''I see! Thank you for sharing your opinion. Is there anything you think [Transport for West Midlands] could be doing better more generally?'''

I think they're doing a good enough job, although to be honest I'm not very familiar with them as a company as I mainly use the train or the bus which is [sic] not fully under their jurisdiction.