Why Tram? While I prefer them as well and my area has some, this is the same scenario a bus can handle, and a bus is arguably better since it can go more places and be more flexible without infrastructure costs. For most places, we need to electrify buses and figure out how to make them a more appealing choice
Trains and trains are better at scaling for more populated areas but buses need to be part of that continuum
The problem with buses (on busy lines), and I don’t see how to overcome it, is that they get full. I’d rather have a slow traffic jam than having to let 3 or 4 buses pass you by because they are full. This is on a line that rides every 7 minutes. But on tuesdays and thursdays, you can’t get a bus from my stop at 5 o’clock.
Yeah, that seems like more than enough activity to scale up to something that can handle more.
Unfortunately trams can have similar shortcomings all too easily, but I guess it’s the next step
Around here, they’re trying the approach of dedicated bus lanes. The claim is that a lot of the time it only takes one bus stuck in traffic to get behind and stuck in that problem. With a dedicated lane, the bus scales a little better, goes a little faster, is a little more likely to be on time.
I see buses as a good method of figuring out routes when first implementing a transit system similar to how some developments leave out walking paths to see where people typically walk and install them afterwards.
Generally though, trams can allow for more passengers transported per trip and per operator than a bus. Good for high and low traffic areas with dedicated transit lanes.
Don’t get me wrong - trams certainly don’t replace buses. Multiple forms of transit are best practice of course. I just don’t see the need for only buses or mostly buses.
As a minor detail, tires are one of the top polluters of both microplastics and noise levels in cities, and it would be nice to lower the amount of them being disintegrated in the process of moving people from place to place - be in from buses, or the larger culprit, private vehicles.
Why Tram? While I prefer them as well and my area has some, this is the same scenario a bus can handle, and a bus is arguably better since it can go more places and be more flexible without infrastructure costs. For most places, we need to electrify buses and figure out how to make them a more appealing choice
Trains and trains are better at scaling for more populated areas but buses need to be part of that continuum
The problem with buses (on busy lines), and I don’t see how to overcome it, is that they get full. I’d rather have a slow traffic jam than having to let 3 or 4 buses pass you by because they are full. This is on a line that rides every 7 minutes. But on tuesdays and thursdays, you can’t get a bus from my stop at 5 o’clock.
Yeah, that seems like more than enough activity to scale up to something that can handle more.
Unfortunately trams can have similar shortcomings all too easily, but I guess it’s the next step
Around here, they’re trying the approach of dedicated bus lanes. The claim is that a lot of the time it only takes one bus stuck in traffic to get behind and stuck in that problem. With a dedicated lane, the bus scales a little better, goes a little faster, is a little more likely to be on time.
I see buses as a good method of figuring out routes when first implementing a transit system similar to how some developments leave out walking paths to see where people typically walk and install them afterwards.
Generally though, trams can allow for more passengers transported per trip and per operator than a bus. Good for high and low traffic areas with dedicated transit lanes.
Don’t get me wrong - trams certainly don’t replace buses. Multiple forms of transit are best practice of course. I just don’t see the need for only buses or mostly buses.
As a minor detail, tires are one of the top polluters of both microplastics and noise levels in cities, and it would be nice to lower the amount of them being disintegrated in the process of moving people from place to place - be in from buses, or the larger culprit, private vehicles.