I never understood why authorities in large UK cities (London and my home town, Bradford, to name but two) took against trams. True the routes were inflexible and the vehicles noisy. But compared with their “greenness”, durability, and high average speeds on dedicated – as opposed to shared – tracks these problems could have been resolved.Re-introducing them now would be expensive. Yet their unhampered progress (on unshared track, that is) would be a genuine carrot to tempt drivers away from cars at rush-hours. Unlike buses which suffer the same traffic jams as cars.
Pittsburgh had a tram system when I lived there (1966 – 1972). It was ramshackle but did the job. It did share downtown roadspace with cars; however drivers were uneasy when a tram loomed up in the rear mirror and did their best to get out of the way.
Hanover, in northern Germany, has a permanent site for huge industrial exhibitions. The modern tram system there is ideal for coping with temporary population surges.
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