Our Nottingham hub Try a Tram!


Members of our Nottingham Hub Thursday Social Group enjoyed a great day out with the support of the lovely team at NET, who helped everyone safely access the tram for a visit to Nottingham Lakeside Arts the Nottingham University-run coffee shop and arts centre.
Support to access the tram
Support to access the Nottingham’s tram network was provided as part of the ‘Try a Tram’ initiative run by Nottingham Express Transit (NET), which aims to provide disabled groups with the confidence to travel by tram.
NET was the first tram system in the UK to be fully accessible under the Disability Discrimination Act guidelines, and many visually impaired people choose to travel by tram because it has many features which have been designed to help them travel easily and in comfort, such as level access and audio announcements.  For other visually impaired people who may be travelling by tram for the first time, the experience may feel a little more daunting and they may lack the confidence to use  trams independently and so the The Try a Tram initiative aims to  give disabled passengers the chance to have a guided tour of the tram so they can see what features and assistance is available to them.
With the help of NET staff, members of our Nottingham hub were able to safely board the tram, with extra time allowed by the driver for our group to safely take their seats before the tram moved off.  Staff were also on hand to demonstrate the special help features on board the tram for extra reassurance.
Glad we could help
Luke Taylor, Deputy Customer Relations Manager at NET, said: “It was fantastic to meet members of the group and their volunteers. Everyone seemed to really enjoy the experience of travelling by tram and said they appreciated the support our team was able to offer. We met the group at Heathcoat Street before walking up to the tram and were able to get some great feedback from people about tram travel.  I had a covering note to cover any possible costs of travel, and ensure smoother boarding as this meant it was not necessary to purchase tickets or validate a pass prior to boarding. Our team then had more time  to demonstrate using the help points to make contact with the control room and we were able to advise the driver we needed more time to board and alight. It all went very smoothly, including the public offering seats to the group, which we know doesn’t always happen.”
We had a great time!
Elaine Newton, Lead volunteer who organised the day out said: “We all had an absolutely fantastic time at Nottingham Lakeside and having the support of staff from NET helped everything run even more smoothly.  Some members of our group have never travelled by tram before so we’re grateful to Luke and his team for all their support on the day and for their commitment to improving the experience of visually impaired people on the tram network.”