Consultation shouldn’t be confused with public support

A report to Edinburgh City Council transport committee states that 62 per cent of people responding to its consultation on extending the tram network support the idea

That shouldn’t be confused with public support, a figure I suspect the council will not want to research as it continues to dream about a line from Granton to the Royal Infirmary and beyond.

We know from bitter experience that the cost of installing a tram line is crippling, but today’s report seems to be doing its best to rewrite recent history, claiming the tram to Newhaven was jolly good value at £54 million a kilometre because it’s not the most expensive.

The latest report looks at the feasibility of opting for a bus rapid transit system instead of the £2 billion and counting for another tram line, not including some £44m just for working up the business case, which should be enough in itself to derail the scheme.

Instead it does its best to poo-poo the bus alternative, even though Lothian Buses’ view that a dedicated busway is quite feasible south from Princes Street.

Perhaps surprisingly, the bus company concedes a tram line is better that a busway from Princes Street to Granton, but that’s a choice between a blank cheque for converting the Dean Bridge – think how long the North Bridge work has taken – or ripping up the Roseburn Path.

Sue Webber is a Scottish Conservative Lothian MSP