Councillors call for more information after Metrolink WiFi ‘terminated’

Free internet access was suspended ‘indefinitely’ in June as bosses grappled with funding uncertainties and plummeting passenger numbers caused by the first Covid-19 lockdown.

By withdrawing WiFi, Metrolink is saving £300,000 a year to provide the service as well as avoiding a £1m bill to upgrade the system.

Tram usage, which had been increasing week-on-week between the first and second national lockdowns, is beginning to fall to around a third of pre-coronavirus levels.

Patronage figures for November have yet to be released, but Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is expecting it to be ‘significantly reduced’.

Meanwhile reports of crime and antisocial behaviour on the network rose to 238 between September 20 and October 17 – the highest figure reported in a year and well above the monthly average of 140 incidents.

But a member of the Greater Manchester Transport Committee has asked for an update on the future of WiFi provision on the tram network.

Liberal Democrat councillor Howard Sykes, speaking at a meeting of the Metrolink and Rail subcommittee on November 20, said: “I understand the situation has moved on so that not only have we suspended [WiFi] we’ve effectively terminated it.

“I would have thought that no other light rail network has suspended its WiFi, buses continue to offer it because it’s part of the attractive offer of getting passengers back on the service.

“I can agree or disagree with the decision, but the fact that it never comes anyway near us on this subcommittee or the main Committee is a shame.

“I do find it a bit peculiar to say the least that we’ve terminated it, it’s not an insubstantial amount. We have no plans to re-engage but nobody saw fit to tell us.”

Coun Sykes told the meeting that he had suggested that Metrolink install real-time digital information points at stops across Greater Manchester a few years ago, only to be told that they were not needed due to the availability of free WiFi.

Victoria Mercer, the Metrolink service delivery manager at TfGM, agreed to produce a full report to fully explain the thinking behind the decision to withdraw WiFi.

The meeting heard that usage had been falling before the pandemic, and the service was up for review ahead of being potentially renewed.

Councillors were also told that another reason for withdrawing Wifi was that the network had been ‘tapped into’ and used for antisocial behaviour.

Ms Mercer said: “Ultimately with reviewing the renewal that was required, reviewing the usage and in light of the significant loss of revenue and financial constraints as well, the decision was taken not to switch it back on.”

The original decision to suspend the service had been taken at a time when Metrolink was facing the threat of being ‘mothballed’ without government support.

Since then the Department for Transport has announced several bailout packages for light rail networks across the UK, with Metrolink due to receive a share of an extra £33.5m on top of the £44m it has received since March this year.

Under the current financial agreements Metrolink will receive emergency funding up until March 31, 2021.

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