Alison Sweeney, head of marketing at Nottingham Express Transit (NET) - which run our trams in Nottingham – tells us all we need to know about the iconic transport that gets us from A-B.
It’s fair to say that the trams are pretty iconic in Nottingham – a bit like the Left Lion. And just like the stone statue, they’ve been here for a very long time. The first tram, powered by steam, ran in 1878 but that system closed in the 1920s. It wasn’t until 2004 that the iconic trams as we know them were re-launched and in 2024, we’re celebrating the 20th anniversary of the network helping us to get from A-B safely, swifty and smoothly.
If you’re new to the city, your first experience might have been hopping on at one of our park and ride stops to get to a university open day. If you were born here, then the tram has probably been part and parcel of life as you were growing up. Whether you’ve used them for years or are getting to know the network, there’s plenty more to learn about our unique transport system – with lots of ways to get added value from every ticket...
Every tram runs on 100% renewable energy making us one of the most sustainable travel options in the city.
Meet our trams
Only eight cities in the UK have a light rail system such as a tram, and we’re incredibly proud to be one of them, covering almost 20 miles across Nottinghamshire. Our green status isn’t just limited to the paintwork on the cabs that you’ll see whizzing around either, as every tram runs on 100% renewable energy making us one of the most sustainable travel options in the city.
We have 37 trams in total, and many of them are named after a local hero in Nottingham, past or present. Tram 206, for example, is Angela Alcock, an Oxfam donations collector who was nominated by readers of the Nottingham Post, while Tram 222 is none other than West Bridgford-born Lioness, Mary Earps.
Other names you’ll spot include TV personalities, scientists, business owners and people from Nottingham who have done a lot of good. Next time you hop on board, take a moment to see which tram you’re on.
A network for everyone in Nottingham
This all feeds into the fact that our network plays a big role within the Nottingham community, helping students to get to lectures, visit friends or enjoy our high street, and we want it to be for everyone in the city. So we’re always doing what we can to keep making it accessible, especially for the younger members of the community, as the cost of living continues to bite.
With tram stops at every university campus, we know a lot of students use our network. Did you see our bright green stands, enjoy our smoothies or try your luck on our ‘dip and flip’ competition during fresher’s week last year? For a limited time, we’ll often slash the prices of our academic year tram pass, with even bigger ‘on the spot’ discounts for those who came to see us in person at any of the fairs.
For those who missed it, we’ve just launched a new £75 discount on our Six-month Student Season Tram Pass to see you through to the end of the academic year – available on our NETGO! App, the deal ends on 29th February.
We know that not everyone chooses to study though, so our new Under 22 pricing gives everyone who is aged 21 or younger the chance to make the most of discounted travel too. Under the scheme, a single journey is 20% cheaper than a standard ticket while savings jump to 57% on an annual pass, and this deal is available all year around for anyone of eligible age.
Your local partner
We recently launched a new ‘Destination Discount’ scheme helping you to enjoy every bite, sip and stylish find that Nottingham has to offer.
Here you can get lots of exclusive deals when visiting our partners, such as White Rose, Revolución de Cuba and Blend, Axed and Bierkeller – just show your tram ticket or a valid tram pass and you’re on your way to saving money!
Whenever there’s a sporting event, conference or festival happening where more people may need to use our trams, we can create a special deal
We’ve built up good relationships with local businesses and event organisers too. Whenever there’s a sporting event, conference or festival happening where more people may need to use our trams, we can create a special deal – and we’d love to hear of any that are coming up this year that we can support with.
By doing this, we’re helping more people to make the most of Nottingham and are removing any barriers to safe, reliable transport. It goes further than creating a cheaper ticket; we keep our platforms well-lit, have HD CCTV on all trams as well as emergency help buttons and a monitored WhatsApp number to report anything discreetly, on 0115 824 6060.
As a public transport service, we take our role very seriously and are always open to any ideas that you might have to make our system work even better for you, whether it’s ways to help you feel even safer, or more ways to help you enjoy your favourite sport.
Keep in touch
You can head to our social media channels to find out about the deals available from our Destination Discount partners, our latest competitions, our new initiatives or just to see what’s happening close to any of our stops. We’re particularly proud of our TikTok – just search for NET Nottingham Tram next time you’re scrolling.
To send over any suggestions, it’s best to send us a direct message on your favourite social media channel. While we can’t promise we can action every request we get, there’s nothing that me and my team love more than learning about how people in Nottingham use the trams, and how we can make them even better.
The Discounted six-month Student Season Tram Pass and Under 19 (U19) Six-month Tram Pass can both be purchased directly from the NETGO! App from Monday 29th January until Thursday 29th February. To download the NETGO! App, visit the Apple app store or Google Play.
Get in touch with NET on Instagram, X, or TikTok. Or, for more information, visit thetram.net
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