Plans would see three electric trackless land trains, called Dotto trains, linking Ryde seafront with the town centre, heritage attractions and hilltop businesses to boost footfall beyond the busy seafront.
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The proposal has been put forward by Ryde on Thyme Limited, founded last year by Star Coffee & Ale House publican Rob Madigan, amid concerns steep hills, some of which are at a 40% gradient, deter visitors from exploring the rest of the town.
Madigan told The Morning Advertiser (The MA): “At the top of town, we miss out on a lot of trade. There’s lots of events down the seafront and people just don’t want to walk up the hill.
“If we can get these three trains moving around, dropping people in the high street to boost trade at the top of the hill, it ticks all the boxes.”
Madigan said the project would also create jobs, with the trains built by local boatbuilders and operated year-round by a team of up to eight drivers.
Difficult time
“Over the last six to eight months I’ve been speaking to companies around the world to get it built for the best price,” he added. “But I’ve realised the best way is to make most of it on the island.”
The company is also exploring sites for storage, charging and maintenance facilities.
“We need a yard, a canteen, somewhere to plug in electrics and water to clean them,” Madigan explained. “I thought about using railway land, but if we can buy our own, even better.”
The project has been estimated to cost between £100,000 and £150,000, with funding set to be sought from part of a £20m regeneration fund previously awarded to Ryde.
It comes at a difficult time for the sector and Madigan, whose tenancy with Admiral Taverns is up for renewal in September, stressed the plans were vital to the survival of his business.
“We’ve put far too much money into this pub to turn it around, but we’re not getting the turnover we want,” he told The MA.
Outside the box
“Trade’s brutal, and the Government isn’t helping. So, we’ve got to help ourselves.
“We’ve got a lovely venue, we’ve been in the BII LOYA quarter-finals, Great British Pub Awards finals and won lots of local awards, but it doesn’t bring people in the door.”
Although the project began as a way to increase footfall at his own pub, Madigan said the benefits would be felt across the town.
“We’ve got to work outside the box. I started this to bring trade into my pub, but I know we’ll all benefit. We’ll all make money, we’ll all survive,” he said.
“The high street’s struggling, Amazon’s taken over, but if we can get people moving and make it easy for them, it’s got to save us.”
The operator, who is also director of Ryde on Tyme Limited, added the company could repay around 50% of the funding over the next 10 years, putting money back into the community fund.
Madigan is due to meet with the council in September but is hopeful the trains will be up and running next year as they have so far been supportive of the project.
