Quote:
Originally Posted by SebC
What advantage does a street-car route have over a bus route?
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This same question was asked in another thread, and here was my response:
Well to start, each one can fill a much different role in the transportation network. Local vs. regional, long distance service, circulation vs. collection and distribution, etc. Streetcar systems usually take a role closer to that of buses than to LRT systems like the C-Train, so they are more often compared to buses when looking at advantages/disadvantages.
A few key advantages are:
- Can run in-street in mixed traffic using existing infrastructure.
- Much less costly than LRT, but more than buses
- Less noisy than buses and less odorous emissions
- Streetcars offer a smoother ride than buses
- Streetcars often have more capacity than buses.
- Has been shown to attract nearby development much more effectively than buses due to the permanency. Developers see it as the municipality making a long-term "investment" in the area and the route
- Has been shown to attract more choice riders than buses with same capacity and speed on same routes. This is due to a concept called
rail bias, whereby people are more willing to take rail public transit than bus public transit if they have the choice. It is seen as a more attractive travel option.
As is often the case, other people have said it better than myself. Here's some links:
In depth:
http://www.railwaypreservation.com/v...agetrolley.htm
http://www.infrastructurist.com/2009...r-renaissance/
Concise:
http://www.cptdb.ca/wiki/index.php?title=Streetcar
The streetcar (or tram) wikipedia page also gives a good synopsis:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tram