Originally Posted by
Roughstuff
Despite the hyperventilated theory that 'trams were eliminated by general motors so they could sell more cars,' trams are heavy, awkward, disgorge passengers in the middle of the roadway (DUH!), interefere with traffic flow turning left and right, are often powered by overhead lines which are unsightly and dangerous....yadda yadda yadda. Uniquely among a subset of poor transportation alternatives, trams have to be the worst. They are quaint in places like Zurich where they shuttle people around who earn six figures a year and feel guilty about heroin users in their local parks (out of sight and out of mind)....but they are pretty much worthless everywhere else.
roughstuff
I love trams! But then again I love 'quaint'...
The new city government here (Odense, DK) had as a part of their platform building a tram line between downtown and the university. Other than you can haul more passengers per trip, I fail to see the usefulness of committing so much money to a permanent route.
But what the heck. It'll be quaint.