Yep! It was a pretty scammy system. In NA effectively the streetcars were a scheme to sell real estate, with the streetcar being the sweetener to convince peop

Yep! It was a pretty scammy system. In NA effectively the streetcars were a scheme to sell real estate, with the streetcar being the sweetener to convince people to buy into the neighbourhood. Once sales were over the streetcar was then a pointless drag on profits. No surprise unscrupulous business persons cut back on maintenance and abandoned the "unprofitable" streetcars.