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Does a tram offer anything over a regular bus?
by paxys 2y ago
Does a tram offer anything over a regular bus?
- DiogenesKynikos 2y agoTrams are much more comfortable than buses. The ride is way smoother.
- masklinn 2y agoAlso higher efficiency due to being rail, and some amount of grade separation & dedicated infrastructure which makes them less flexible but more reliable: it takes a high amount of driver incompetence to stick a tram in traffic.
- itronitron 2y agoWhat Diogenes said, but also trams will often have dedicated lanes so are less likely to get stuck in traffic.
- paxys 2y agoThat isn't an inherent property of trams. A lot of them share road space with vehicles. A lot of buses meanwhile have dedicated lanes.
- itronitron 2y agoTrue, I should add as well that dedicated lanes for buses or trams also provide an advantage of being available to emergency vehicles.
- jltsiren 2y agoComfort has already been mentioned. There is an observation that if you replace a bus line with an equivalent tram / light rail line, the rail line will attract more passengers. The reasons are not fully understood. Comfort probably plays a role. Another reason might be that rail lines are easier to understand. Buses are almost universally confusing, while tracks make it obvious where the rail line goes. Trams also have a capacity advantage, because the vehicles can be larger. And operating them is cheaper in the long term, because the vehicles are much more durable.
- rickydroll 2y agoSomebody should put out a "Dummies Guide to Durable Trams" for the MBTA. The T is so bad that even transit advocates would rather drive when they need to be somewhere on time.
- treis 2y ago>There is an observation that if you replace a bus line with an equivalent tram / light rail line, the rail line will attract more passengers. This was the thought here in Atlanta but the streetcar has really struggled. Less than 20% of the predicted daily riders.
- solraph 2y agoWithout knowing anything about the system at all - does it use the same payment system as the buses?
- treis 2y agoYou can and it was free for a while.
- seanmcdirmid 2y agoSeattle’s SLU Tram has similar problems, but it is more of the route it takes not being very useful. The first hill tram gets a lot more riders since it’s route actually goes between populated areas.
- MisterTea 2y ago> The reasons are not fully understood. As someone who lived in NYC all their life and took public transit to school - buses suck. You have to stand in whatever weather is present: pouring rain, freezing cold, sweltering heat. Maybe there's a shelter, maybe someone is sleeping in it, maybe it's already full because it can only shelter a few people. No matter how "big" the stop is its always the same fucking pathetically small shelter. The ride is substandard with poor HVAC and in the colder months when it rains its miserable and very uncomfortable - damp and cold. Then the drivers have to deal with morons on the road so you get jerks and sudden stops from braking. As soon as I could I bought a car and to this day avoid buses like the plague. Thankfully I only have to take the subway to get to Manhattan as I live 2 blocks from the A train.
- JojoFatsani 2y agoDedicated right of way will not be prone to auto traffic.
- solraph 2y agoAlongside the other reasons mentioned (comfort, right of ways, dedicated corridors), it's blatantly obvious where trams run due to the tracks in the ground. With a bus, there's always the potential the route has changed, or your specific bus is skipping over your stop for some reason. With a tram, even if you've never been to that city or part of the city before, you know there's going to be a tram along those tracks, and you simply need to walk along the road till you find the stop.