Anyone Tried the Edinburgh Trams?

[campbell]

Although I live near Aberdeen I always use Edinburgh airport for holiday flights. I book in advance and use the short stay car park as I like to quickly walk to and from the terminal. Just checked the cost of our next parking which is nearly 9 days and it is £48. In short, book in advance and it is quite reasonable.
Cheers
Ian

Not sure how far ahead you had to book, but the thieves wanted £38 from me for just over 1 day...in *long stay*. Farce. Booked NCP just up the road for £18. Still too high, but it'll do.

The "offers" on the terminal surface Short Stay were £60.

I was so incensed that I went in search of a number to call at EDI to complain. Needless to say not easy to find (I have previously written to complain and received nil response despite clicking "please contact me to discuss").

On the upside, it's moving me much closer to the train which will please the green lot. When you factor in parking and transfers, the equivalent journey I'm planning in Aug would be ~£200 by air, and £100 by train.

I heard today that Newcastle airport are now anxious that an independent Scotland's abolition of Air Passenger Duty will wipe out their passenger numbers. Well I've got news for you, Newcy. So long as EDI continues to screw more out of its customers, you're pretty safe IMHO.

[robin]

Katie is off down to see her folks in a couple of weeks. Train is 135 round trip and is (nearly) door to door. By easyjet it's a wee bit cheaper, until you factor in getting to/from the airport . . .

Cheers,
Robin

[graeme]

I use www.secureairparks.com at EDI. Never had any complaints.

[BigD]

Not sure how you managed to find it so expensive Campbell for Parking, I rarely pay over £40 for a week but rarely use the on site short stay car parks as they are well know to be pricey. At Edinburgh I think it is Scotpark NCP I Use £36 for a week, admittedly it'll be higher for shorter stays.

On a train note I recently got the train to Lancaster from Edinburgh for the TT and it was cost effective and hassle free, loving the train these days.

"This is the age of the Train" - Remember the old advert?!

Choo Choo!!

[C7Steve]

Yes, I remember the advert, but don't You Tube it like I just did.

Steve.

[BigD]

Yes, I remember the advert, but don't You Tube it like I just did.

Steve.

I tried that and couldn't find it, all it came up with was a training guide on how to board a train, WTF?!

[C7Steve]

'This is the age of the train'

Steve.

[Sanjøy]

Agree edi long stay is cheap. Cheaper than a one way cab ~£55for 10 days as long as you book in advance.

[robin]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ut6D-1akP_w

[robin]

BTW, I discovered today that you get to pay £10 if you want to buy your ticket on the tram. Even though the fare is £1.50. Even though there is somebody on the train selling tickets. They aren't there to sell tickets. Go figure.

Cheers,
Robin

[Hub]

Hi Campbell,
I usually book 3 - 6 months in advance. Basically book flight and car park at the same time. For interest I just tried booking the same period, later this month and it has gone up from £48 to £88. I then tried to book one night instead of 12 and low and behold, it is £46.99 !!!!!!

I assume they work on the principal that if you do very short notice car park booking it is for business and you'll ( or rather your company) will accept the charge.

Cheers
Ian

[campbell]

Fair enough for big business, perhaps. Bigger impact for SMEs though.

Would be rare for me to have anything like 3 mths notice for most business trips, although if/when I do, I agree that VFM plans can be laid including airport parking.

I just feel the profiteering by EDI is unacceptable and it's definitely affecting my attitude to it as a service provider.

As for the ten pound tram, Robin, you're unlucky there. Had I not checked the website before our trial ride last weekend, a 4-stop trip could have cost us £30!!

[robin]

Needless to say I didn't pay the £10 - there are no notices on the tram door saying that you'll be charged this if entering without a ticket. I doubt it is practical to enforce. The railway has a clearly marked boundary with signs telling you that if you cross the line without a ticket you can expect to be fined. The tram has a very dense poster in the back of the shelter showing the route, all sorts of other "propaganda" and the 8 ways you can pay for your ticket. Except it's 7 ways and the 8th square says you cannot buy your ticket on the tram. You can clearly get on the tram without seeing this notice - I walked straight onto the tram from the end of the platform going nowhere near the nondescript ticket machines.

IF they want to avoid a lot of on-tram aggro and associated publicity (mobile phones -> youtube) then they will need to put some big notices on the door of the tram.

Ironically on the door it says "have you validated your <generic-smart-ticket-thing>". The edinburgh ridacard is a popular way of buying a season ticket for the busses and now trams. Unfortunately for the trams, the ridacard doesn't appear to scan on the conductor's portable terminals (they make some show of checking it, but it seems to be no more than an act) - so they have no way of knowing whether or not your ridacard is valid it seems

I don't have a ridacard so cannot confirm whether or not this is true, but somebody I know and trust uses his all the time

Cheers,
Robin

[ruadh08]

Have to say, I used the tram for the first time today after I dropped off the Evora at MMC for a service. Very impressed, helpful staff, and smooth ride. There was a woman next to us who had not bought her ticket, and she was charged the £1.50 by the ticket "customer service" lady, who politely pointed out how to correctly buy tickets in the future!

Mind you Robin will be upset that the use the crappy pinnacle body worn CCTV instead of the excellent Edesix product!!

[greido]

I started this thread a week ago as I was dismayed at the 30 minute journey from the airport to Haymarket, did the same journey at the same time tonight and took the airlink bus.... Took 12 minutes and was £1 cheaper... And the bus kept up with a red 53 plate Elise the whole way along!.