Swansea Metro

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The Swansea Metro or StreetCar is a proposal by Swansea council to introduce a bus-tram hybrid that will have dedicated routes throughout the city in an attempt to relieve congestion and provide alternative transport to cars and buses. The Welsh Assembly Government has provided £2.2m in funding to help launch the Swansea Metro, the first of its kind in Wales.

First Cymru will pay for the fleet, at a cost of £300,000 for each vehicle. They will contain 110 seats, and in an attempt to speed up journeys its users will pre-pay for tickets at scheduled stops so that it is stationary for less than 20 seconds.

Road works have already commenced and proponents claim that it will be much cheaper than introducing a full tram network, and can be up and running by early 2008. The Metro would run initially along a clearly defined route calling at Morriston and Singleton Hospitals, the new £7m civic centre at County Hall and the university.

However many people claim that it will increase congestion because of the need to introduce one-way networks and will only be a short-term measure.