Aim of a transit authority isn't to get most of the metal back, but to dispose the vehicles as cheaply as possible. To conform with environmental regulations, l

Aim of a transit authority isn't to get most of the metal back, but to dispose the vehicles as cheaply as possible. To conform with environmental regulations, labor safety, etc., is quite expensive. That's why you can find so many old German trams across the eastern Europe. German authorities eagerly "sold" their old trams for pretty much any cost (like 1 euro and pick-up), rather than scrap them, which would cost money and not bring that enough in scrap.