"Tom Anderson" wrote in message
...
What's the point of trams?

[snip]

Yes, the tram can carry twice as many
people, but the cost, once you factor in the infrastructure, has got to be
more than twice as much,

[snip]

And don't give me that off-street running rubbish - you can
build dedicated busways and get just the same benefits for buses.

There seems to be a certain logical error here. In order to provide a
higher quality of service than a regular bus on a regular road, you can
provide a tram on its own right of way or a bus on its own right of way. In
both cases, the cost of the system must factor in both (which is not
generally the case, for example the cost of maintaining bus lanes is not
charged to bus operators). If you do that, you will find, for certain
routes, trams are the cheapest option.

I would also refute your claim that, "other passenger-experience factors are
much the same." My experience of Croydon's trams and the London Bendy
Buses would suggest that the trams are significantly more pleasant to ride
than the buses.

Robin