The real reason streetcars are making a comeback
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- Опубликовано: 8 авг 2017
- It’s mostly about economic development.
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Starting in the late 20th century, modern streetcar proposals started rippling across municipalities in the United States. They’re touted as infrastructure carrying benefits ranging from the social to economic and the environmental. But these projects often make appearances in the news as costly, blunder-filled experiments in public policy.
Cities are willing to bet big on this technology for its potential to develop the local economy. But there is some disagreement as to whether the streetcar is driving this progress, or if it is simply the result of planning around the streetcar.
If you're looking for more information on public transportation and urban planning, here are a few links:
This interactive map by Yonah Freemark and Steven Vance allows you to zoom in on all public transportation projects across North America. www.thetransportpolitic.com/tr...
This paper by Randal O'Toole of the CATO institute looks closely at the policy winds that drives streetcar proposals. www.cato.org/publications/pol...
For more information on New York City's streetcar proposal, you can check out the Friends of the BQX website here: www.bqx.nyc.
For a view of local opinions on the BQX, you can check out this documentary. • Gentrification Express...
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We now have an Urbanism & transportation section for anyone who enjoyed this topic and would like to see videos on something similar. Hope you enjoy!: ruclips.net/video/c2YInNlzMDQ/видео.html - Carlos W.
Vox People Mover and Q line in Detroit. Check them out
IT"S TRAM YOU IDIOT VOX! TRAM! T-R-A-M! Vox you so stupik
@@Xyb3rTeCh streetcar is american english tram is the real english, sometimes americans make up there own english words because they dont want to sound british
@@JoducusKwak Australians aren't british but they called it tram too
He never mentioned the one in Kansas, *sad Kansas noises*
This was disappointing. We have streetcars all over The Netherlands and it is one of the best transforts in a city. The thing is, we don't actually have them running over the streets in most cases. If you give them dedicated lanes, it workes perfectly and definitely is not only needed for a modern look.
Vox is a US media company, I get that, but when saying a entire category of transportation is not actually usefully for transport, you should really look beyond the borders of the US
Samuël Visser Not true.
Trams are non-existant outside of the randstad. Only Rotterdam, Amsterdam, the Hague, and Utrecht have trams. Thanks for forgetting about us Groningers once again lol
It is also very expensive.
@@91Durktheturk You may not trust me, but the most efficient way of street transportation (in capable hands) - the tram - is also the most expensive. Don't thank me.
@@Nikdoge The tram is the most expensive mode and less efficient than buses. Trams for instance cannot overtake and are thus not capable to transport as much people as buses do with dedicated bus lane infrastructure. This is even true for the USA, where the bus lane in a NY tunnel from New Jersey to NY has an equal higher capacity as the NY metro, with more than 600 buses per hour. (at least 30k per hour per direction if one conservatively estimates the capacity of one bus to be 50). No streetcar system would come close to that
They have "streetcars" in dedicated lanes in the USA, tons more than what this video is talking about. They are called "LRT's" when they are in dedicated lanes however, not streetcars. Streetcars run only on the..... STREET! Hence the name. LRT stands for Light Rail Transit.
We call these trams.
In the U.S., the term _tram_ is mostly understood to be aerial tramways or people movers.
Straßenbahn!
@RaymondHng
I read 'people mowers'. ^^
Same in England
Pseudynom so street-train
Rest of the world: Trams
America : Street car
In the U.S. and Canada, the term _tram_ is mostly understood to be aerial tramways or people movers. The U.S. once had the horsecar for public transport. When they were electrified, they were called streetcars for the past 100 years.
Well, germans call it "Straßenbahn" which can translate into "Street train" or "Street path" or "Street Railroad"
Who cares what the rest of the world thinks. They're not paying our bills
@Dera Kio Yeah, but the problem is trams and light rails are different things.
@@Terepin64 In Berlin, we have Trams that have dedicated tracks separate from the streets in many areas of the city, while also running on tracks that are embedded in the streets in other areas where space is limited.
Also, our subways run above the ground in the suburban areas - the U2 line even runs on an elevated track. Also, the north-south routes of the Berlin S-Bahn (our rapid transit railway system) mostly run underground in central Berlin.
Lets say I find the terminology somewhat confusing.
There is a certain limit to how much people different types of transport can carry per hour:
1. Private cars (constant flow on 1 lane) ~ 1500 pph
2. Bus (with 2/1 min intervals) ~ 4500/11000 pph
3. Tram (with 2/1 min intervals) ~ 9000/22000 pph
4. Suburban rail ~ 40000 pph
5. Subway/metro ~ 70000 pph
6. Urban rail system ~ 90000 pph
If you don't want your city clogged up with traffic, you have to develop your public transport wisely.
Cities with over a million people with only bus services and highways running through downtown areas are not the way to go.
After certain population thresholds are reached you have to add public transport systems with more capacity.
There's always a sweet spot. Start building up public transport too late and u r in a gridlock, start too soon and u r pumping a fortune into a mode of transport that won't reach its designated ridership.
WTF, where do you live to have a 1/2 minutes intervals for buses and trams?
@@roccosemler228 I don't know about buses because I don't usually ride them, but where I live there's a metro every 3 to 8 minutes depending on which station you're at.
@@CortezEspartaco2 here too, but bus sare much less frequent, there's usually at least 5/6 minutes between them
In Moscow there are some examples where the subway does not reach yet - buses often arrive once per 1-5 minutes. They are not same route but a large enough stretch is often parallel, and that part serves a good portion of commuters. New subway extensions replaced some of such stretches.
And our subway (metro) trains arrive once in about 3 minutes. Those trains usually consist of about six medium-sized 4-door rail-cars. And in rush hours this is not enough - people literally jam into those trains. And keep in mind our business day start/end is way more lax than e.g. Japanese.
Which brings me to this: When a part of a subway line closes for maintenance, a supplementary bus line is organized. Those buses arrive up to 3 per minute. Yes, it's a continuous ant line of buses - one arrives as previous departs. Several streets are usually closed for cars entirely so that those buses can run, that part of a city invariably becomes a huge traffic jam. But if they don't do this there will be huuuuuge crowds of very angry people forced to walk a long distance home that will just block all the streets because there is no way they could fit on curbs of any size.
By the way, we do have streetcars/trams which we call tramways for some reason (that is, "tramway" is not a tram way but a tram car).
Sometimes they run together with other traffic but sometimes they have their own lane which is when they truly shine. This lane takes less space than a normal lane but moves much faster because it has less interruptions. Trams can be much longer than even a joined-car bus and so can commute more people with less drivers.
A large problem with trams is: if one tram-car breaks down there
is usually a huge line of them waiting until the dead one can be towed. Same if overhead wire loses power. This leads to stranded crowds forming at the breakdown spot, trying to fit into already at-capacity buses. On a busy enough train track this happens rather regularly and is a real pain when it does, especially in -15C freezing cold of the winter.
Unfortunately for us, many of the tram routes were closed, especially in city center. Some of it is due to the problem above. But mostly authorities do not care to build a tram track when city layout changes, for them using buses is easier and they don't really care too much about the comfort of actual commuters or ecology. Our trolleybus network shrinks each year for same reasons.
Side note: for us, a car is often more of a luxary than anything else. If public transportation does not reach, owning a car is usually not an option, so you just have to walk - a lot. It is not necessary to own a car and most families don't, even in Moscow. Many people who do own a car only use it whenever really necessary because public transport is faster and is less prone to jams. This has an effect of having a somewhat more Eco-friendly environment.
@@roccosemler228 If you are at a station in the centre of a European city, you sometimes see two Trams stopping at the same time. One stops behind the other and then they continue driving. Tran stations can also accommodate buses.
When it comes to metros, London and comparable cities have trains entering the same track on a station in less than 2 minutes. Considering that doors can be open for 30 seconds, people almost never feel like they are waiting for a train.
so weird to watch this as a european :D
Virtus Schmidt Where? Do you mean light rails, because that’s something different.
In Europe Transportation isn't a joke 😂
Same in Canada
@@lionkinggamer9458 because we do it a lot because we have a basic understanding that people need to move somehow
@@samiibrahim479 no
Comments under this video be like:
60% It's called Trams!
30% In my city/country we do have them
And they work
10% Hahaha streetcars sounds stupid
Why is this not the top comment?
It is called Trams! and in my city/country we do have them
Portlander here. Our tram is the light rail, we do have them, they are decent and it is called the Portland Streetcar.
That's 60% completely useless wankery. For the love of god, I've scanned the comments and there really are scads of schmucks who really think that what the thing is called matters to anyone who is sane.
1% Because streetcars are desire.
How can such a channel with this kind of videos work without comparing to real successful infrastructures outside of the U.S. bubble for example in Europe or China? There is nothing more common than a tram in Europe, even my town/city with around 150k inhabitants has one.
exactly.. i think this type of video should show example of other places probably not europe since europe are more advanced and americans know it in the back of their head. they should show public infrastructure in japan, korea, singapore... american regard the asians as poor. by showing them these comparison, the video can shame people on the right who use "freedom" as an excuse. i don't mind with buses as well. but even buses in us is not reliable and not frequent enough except in the big old cities....
To be fair, it is a US-centric channel.
It may be US-centric channel, but when they wondering why "streetcars" aren't working and haven't the slightest clue, its becuase of lack of dedicated tram lanes... they should just go and ask countries, that have succesful and clean tram lines, how does it work. In the city I've studied in Europe (700K) trams are by far most popular transportation mean, you can find.
Japan is also more advanced :D
American cities usually function much differently than European and Asian cities which makes it hard to make comparisons between them
>Toronto
>on a map of US streetcars
Please don't forget your passport when you visit Canada!
FWIW Toronto is the only city in Canada I can think of that has streetcars.
Here in Vancouver there was a short-lived one that was no longer than DC's that ran during the Olympics with streetcars/trams borrowed from Germany (?) as part of a pilot project, but otherwise it's been moot.
@@moofey I am glad street cart project in Surrey got scrapped for skytrain.
Adam Advocaat and that light rail thing in Surrey
But look what happened to that
Oh wait someone already commented about the same thing
🤦♂️
@@moofey Kitchener-Waterloo and Ottawa have street cars as well now.
@@CloudPrince1234 Ottawa's don't run on the street so they're more like light rail. But yeah Waterloo has streetcars now.
Haha what the hell? Of course they aren't a good alternative to other means of transportation if you don't create lanes dedicated to the street cars and if you just build small networks. Here in Switzerland you're getting through the city way faster with the street cars in rush hour because they can just pass all the cars that are stuck in traffic. You shouldn't just support them because they help urban development, you should support the because they can be powered by clean energy in contrast to most busses and cars!
We are getting there, slowly but surely, you are right though. But Americans have to have an economic incentive, along with any development project, unfortunately when you have a population as large as ours you can't afford to put environmentalism over jobs, as much as it pains me. In Switzerland you have a population of about 8 million, with a very large economy in the financial and high end manufacturing sectors, with high tax income you can afford to cut down on your carbon footprint because your economy as a whole can support rapid change. The only reason America has a large economy is because we span a damn continent and have a very large workforce, if we were to go full environmental with our transportation in a short period of time it would screw over tens of millions of poor workers who would have to deal with higher prices, and for a few years bus shortages until they could replace and install all the Trams, plus Urban traffic is a nightmare as it is all the construction would make it 10 times worse. So in short the only way we can do it is slowly, and over time.
A bus can run on clean energy too. Also the dedicated lane is part of the reason that there is traffic.
MistaOneGuy True but I'm assuming most busses still run on fossil fuels anyways. But I don't know much about public transport in the US, however I think it would have helped to have a European perspective in this video.
Jason S Savitt I totally agree, we do have the luxury of "doing the right thing" because there's a lot of money for that in Switzerland. However, the downside is that our actions don't have the same effect as the actions of bigger countries like the US do. But I guess the silver lining is that through the research that is done in countries like Switzerland, such concepts can become cheaper and more accessible. Same goes for solar panels and other technologies.
Jack Wilson TORONTO FTW!!!!
0:46 "Modern US streetcars"
*points red dot at Canada*
Toronto has one of the best streetcar systems in North America so it'd be wrong not to include it lol
Gsauce 29 it was built way before 2000, though
Toronto has had streetcars for over a century. We had the horse powered streetcars, to the new bombardier streetcars thats seen briefly in this video
@@franciscojcsa6127 two things. 1, Toronto has one of the best streetcar systems in the world it's very thorough for the downtown core. 2,
@@saintlugia I meant they are not in the "Modern Streetcar" bunch, they have been upgraded to modern standard, but they don't have the same characteristics as the systems in the video.
In my city - Warsaw - the first horse trams were introduced as early as in 1866, electric ones in 1908. Now our tram network, in constant development, is one of the biggest in the world (293 km of rails).
Go Warszawa!
Not as big as Melbourne's tram network, which is the largest in the World.
warsaw streetcars are nice, also the metro, is SUPER nice, I was on it once, no one on the whole train except us
I don't know who created that list of Tram Systems in the World, but Silesia in Poland (Katowice Metropolitan Area) has 300 km
@@karakanb3039 But in Silesia it is certainly a metropolitan tram network (Tramwaje Śląskie), running on tram tracks along streets, not on separate rail system.
Europeans be like „comeback? Wtf?“
Nantes. Grenoble. Strasbourg. Montpellier. Nice. Nottingham. Dublin. Edinburgh. Manchester. Florence. Palermo. Messina. Tenerife. Bilbao. Zaragoza. Athens. Luxemburg. To name just a selection of European cities whose tram networks had been closed and lately reopened.
Streetcar networks used to be much, MUCH bigger than they are now. Even in cities like Lisbon, that are famous for preserving and still using quite a lot of its old streetcar network. Some cities, like Paris, scrapped their old networks completely and only in the last few decades have taken their baby steps in rebuilding them as light rail. All this because some automobile lobby bois decided to advocate for the destruction of valuable infrastructure to make their product the only form of transportation in modern cities.
Definitely in the UK trams are making a comeback, for most of the 20th century the only tram line was a tourist focused line in Blackpool. Now we have networks in Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, London, and Edinburgh, among others. There are also hybrid tram-train networks in development for a couple of other cities like Cardiff.
@@Trockenshampooleopard the UK too. They were very popular, then removed and returned again.
@@irrelevance3859 That's why I included three UK cities in my non-exhaustive list.
Germany: **Hold my Straßenbahn**
They are EVERYWHERE
Fr1day u prob never been to Melbourne
expect Hamburg
@@themasonexperience6844 True lol but ik that they have trams
Its Germany
THE WORLD OF ENGINEERING
Expect Hamburg
In Germany every tiny city has a type of streetcar system. I use it too to get to the university…
Jul79 Not in all parts of Germany....
@Ignasi Planas Villalba But for that , the Underground ( "U-Bahn") in Hamburg is one of the best in Germany :)
@Ignasi Planas Villalba Why you need trams If you have a metro system
@@benny6558 They go to different places?
It is amazingly handy to just jump on a Tram going your way down the streets full of shops, restaurants and cafés, all because of the trams.
Just back from Melbourne where I stayed for a couple of weeks at a friend's house in Brunswick. Every morning couldn't wait to jump out of bed, walk down to Sydney Road, sit down with a coffee outside waiting for the tram to take me into town. So civilised, handy and sociable. People are extremely friendly and considerate on the trams because you are all in there together, no abusive road rage.
@@peterbreis5407 Its a cool felling right. But someone wrote that in the second largest city of germany there isnt one, why you need there a tram dough?
For those who don’t know U.S cities used to have working streetcar/tram systems but they were bought out by car companies and most lines were destroyed. The U.S used to be a lot like Europe.
i live in melbourne, and watching this makes me so grateful of TRAM system (street cars) around the Melbourne area, it's cheap, fast and efficient.
And the biggest tram system in the world
I've never heard the saying street car I've only heard *tram*
In the U.S., the term _tram_ is more likely to be understood as an aerial tramway or a people-mover.
It's an Americanism.
yes, tram is the correct term. amuricans can't understand that something moves and is not a car!
Kim Kong-Il streetcar means street carriage, they were originally carried by horses, and just because one country calls something one thing and another calls it another thing, doesn't mean one is right and one is wrong, it means they're both right in different circumstances.
Not even in the title of a certain play? You know, the one about a Tram Named Desire.
It's funny to watch "streetcars are making a comeback" when in my city there are 30 different lines for more than a hundred years now
San Francisco has five trolley streetcar lines that still run to this day.
ethylenoxid Most streetcar lines got demolished to make way for buses. Now street cars are popping up in a lot of cities.
In Germany are alot of Streetcars and buses. (In my City)
RaymondHng ikr love muni
BadWolfBay San Francisco
The correct term is light rail systems. Streetcars, Trams, Trolleys and road based Cable Cars all fall into this category.
Also I am surprised there was no mention of the Great American Streetcar Scandal. General Motors and Firestone purchased light rail system across the country with the purpose of dismantling them and replacing them with buses and cars.
The scandal concerned a company called National City Lines, which bought up dying streetcar systems and replaced them with buses. NCL made an illegal agreement with Chevron, Firestone and GM, where in return for financing, they. would purchases exclusively from those suppliers. That was a violation of antitrust law, hence the scandal.
Streetcars were being replaced all over North America. Here, the changeover began in 1938, in New Westminster, where steep hills made buses more practical.
No. Streetcar is perfectly correct for what they specifically discussed. Light rail can be completely divorced from what a streetcar is ...ie. Vancouver’s SkyTrain system is an automated elevated high speed *light-rail* system & absolutely nothing like a streetcar. Similarly, London’s Dockland Light Railway ... so no, “light rail system” absolutely does not accurately describe “streetcar”. Using the term streetcar does.
@@smallstudiodesign What he is saying is that light rail system is a broad terminology that includes streetcars/trams, among other things. At least if you go by the definition "Light Rail: A Railroad constructed for light traffic."
@@smallstudiodesign Despite their names, the DLR and the SkyTrain are actually light metros which are fully grade-separated but have lower capacity than normal metros.
@@elijahhmarshall Actually, this is video is based on History of America streetcars, so the actual terminology back in 19th century would in fact be called "streetcars". It wasn't until the 70s, where cities like New Orleans, Philadelphia, Boston, Pittsburgh, San Fran, and Toronto, called their modernized system light rails. With that said, light rail in an attempt to differentiate it from their existing streetcars particularly cities that continued to operate both the old and new systems. No one is right or wrong because some cities still use traditionally streetcars. They don't fall inline with trolley's, trams, cable cars.
,,the streetcars are coming back''
the european trams that never retired: *am i joke to you?*
Toronto: *Am I a joke to you?*
*How to create a successful streetcar*
1. ACTUALLY RUN THE CARS FROM NEIGHBORHOODS TO BUSINESSES
2. Put them in areas with lower income people
3. Profit
Tameka Flynn exactly i live in utah and that's why it's doing ok because it actually takes you places you want to be at like the hospital or university or work or any place plus most of the time they have bus stops were they take you close to your destination and other options of transportation
Nope. The reason why this is immediately completely incorrect is you are talking of trying to profit from public transit. That's the first and most widespread mistake in the world of mass transit. Mass transit is a public service and basic human need and requirement, meaning it should only ever strictly be completely free to all.
Also, streetcars (light rail) is meant to be used strictly in small inner urban loops to compliment bus service. Specifically for the heavy urban centers, like Manhattan, London, Tokyo, Dubai, Shanghai, and Toronto to name a few. Therefore place like Portland are not urbanized enough to warrant streetcars.
@@TheCriminalViolin In Bern (Switzerland), the tram network covers all sorts of places. One of the "tram" lines is actually the result of a merger between a near distance light rail train line and the tram network, with the service that's running on it going all through the city. It then goes on to connect low density areas in a neighbouring county. The trams we run are some of the longest tram's I've ever seen anywhere, too. Whilst there are bi-articulated buses (and we just started deploying them on our *trolley bus* lines ;D ), you'll be hard pressed to put something like those trams on tires and run it as a bus service. Trams are much more than just some complementary service for center areas.
Mind you that we don't have subways in Switzerland (anywhere), which means that our above ground transit system has to carry it all.
In Helsinki we have trams in the City Center connecting to nearby areas. If you live further away there are trains, a subway and many bus lines. For this reason trams mark an area as being quite urban and posh. The monthly fee for using the public transport is around 40-100 € depending on how many zones you traverse. The money collected this way is not enough to pay wages, maintenance and development of the public transport network so the cities within the system also help pay for it.
TheCriminalViolin well, profit could also mean a benefit or advantage. And the video did say that public transit does increase the economic prosperity of an area hopefully cheaper than the cost hence profit was used.
its amazing how many people are surprised different countries have different names for things...
tomkillsjerry Idk, but seems like majority of us called it tram
America developed its infrastructure in isolation. dont think they were like "hey UK what do you call your passenger trains that are on the surface streets?"
"trams you wankers"
"Got it hows that Hitler thing going? ohhh bad huh? damn"
lol the trump thing? yea thats all bad news.
+Roelof Hetsen when a brit makes a joke about America it's all funny then we make one about how they sucked in ww2 and you get all salty..
The only surprising thing is that someone thought it's a good idea to call it a streetcar. This is a very misleading and useless name. Trams aren't even cars!
"heavy rail construction is very expensive" every country in the world besides US, triggered
It is indeed expensive. That's why there are only four cities in Germany that have a true metro system besides the S-Bahn.
I think it’s more accurate to say that TUNNELS in built-up cities are prohibitively expensive. This is why, for example, transit is always such a political matter for Toronto; the different levels of government have different priorities, budget goals, and agendas, for funding new and upgraded transit projects here, which leads to endless debates and delays and cancellations.
i’m sure canada is upset over this comment, you’re no better than whoever you’re quoting
@@VieleGuteFahrer Germany is not the only country, and it has similar development laws to the US
says "modern U.S. Streetcars"
.....
puts marker over Toronto, Canada
also it's been in the city since the end of the 19th century. Not just from 2001
We had them here, too beginning in the 1890s. Beginning in 1938, the lines were gradually replaced with buses and trolleybuses; the last streetcar line was decommissioned in 1955 IIRC and the last interurban line in 1958.
Every big city in Germany has plenty of those "streetcars"
Germany's second largest city, Hamburg, actually got rid of them quite some time ago.
Except Hamburg, because we have enough trains and buses to get around.
Crazy Monkey Or Wuppertal, which has a suspension train 🚟
You don't see them much in uk I think theyre in Edinburgh. Munich has loads, Germany is defined you what other countries should aim there infrastructure on.
German where smart, they didn't tear them up in the 60's 70's !
Look at Melbourne Australia using trams (street cars) through out the whole city... and it works.
ikswortp
I know; your system is great! Cheers from Los Angeles, wish we had something like what you have!
Sgt. EclairThanks Mate,I use the system everyday and it has never failed me.This should be something expanded to every major city in the world.
Use it every day to get to school and everywhere else ~ fantastic
Europe has it in every big city too and it works just fine ^^ much faster then a bus and more punctual
Great for the east side and north side, doesn't extend enough in the west and the busses and trains are less accessible in the west too. They keep saying they'll upgrade.....
I *love* how in New York, the street cars are going to communities that already have established public transportation. I live in south brooklyn where it is 30 minutes away from a subway, and though a streetcar would be a good alternative to extend trains to the outer boroughs without tunneling through the underground foundation, it is not happening here :/
Hopefully the Interborough Express line that is proposed happens and help you out.
I live in Southeast Queens and I feel you on that 😭 I personally think streetcars would be incredibly doable for the transit deserts in Brooklyn and Queens, especially because the land itself was never built for underground subways ( which would cost much more to develop). NIMBYs also seem to be way more against trains than streetcars for some reason.
Sydney Australia has also recently re-introduced modern light rail lines after abandoning the previous ones back in 1961. Melbourne, on the other hand, has always maintained its original streetcar network while upgrading its rolling stock. I have ridden all of these lines extensively.
Sydney’s light rail is cool the only problem is that the downtown section is insanely slow, especially compared to Canberra
When I hear streetcar, I think Nissan Skyline.
Did I just watch a video about trams?..
In the U.S., the term _tram_ is mostly understood to be aerial tramways or people movers. The U.S. once had the horsecar for public transport. When they were electrified, they were called streetcars for the past 100 years.
I knew about them being called trams in Europe, but I swear I've heard the term "road cars" used for cars. Maybe it's just a British thing?
@@moofey No, we call them trams too. Street car is definitely an American name.
In general, a good public transport system should have trains as the arteries and veins, trams and metros as the arterioles and venials and buses as the capillaries.
Trams here in the Netherlands fill a very specific need. We have a standardized chip card network for the country that is shared with all trains, metros, trams and buses. Trams are useful in that they are faster for intercity transport than buses and cheaper than the train and they are more reliable than buses for local transport. As brought out, they're useless if the line only runs a few kilometers.
But why do they work that great In Europe? Here in the former east sector of Berlin they are nearly no buses but many many tram routes. If they run in mixed traffic the Trams get priority all the time. The efficiency and capacity of the trams make it a great extension to the Subway and the S-Bahn network.
Trams getting priority over cars is a no-no in America... here one person in a car is much more “important” than a silly tram full of people... this is way we need to build trams on separate rights of way.
European cities invest in their transit systems, in the U.S. we sadly let them fall into disrepair.
You mean... Trams? Switzerland has them all over, and everyone loves them here..
When you watch a video intended for a different country from your own, just accept that they use their own dialect.
In the U.S., the term _tram_ is more likely to be understood as an aerial tramway or a people-mover.
yes, one more example of dumb amurican language: STREET CAR, HUB CAPS, COLLEGE, FOOTBALL. maybe you need to accept that in this world we use the metric system and trams, not yard furlong tictacs and forthnight barrel plums. move to this millenium and say tram. the whole europe has trams
you mean a mono-rail?
ISO 668 the international standard which classifies intermodal freight shipping containers that are used by every single shipping company, truck manufacturer, and railroad car manufacturer in every country in the world and used to ship as cheaply as possible the computing device that you are now using is specified as 40 feet. All dimensions are in U.S. customary units.
We have those back in Colonial Days here in Indonesia. Then the Japanese invade and take the line because they want to build railway to Burma. After Independence, the amount of railways in Indonesia has decreased, and all Trams or 'Street Cars' have disappeared. We still have the Depot standing in Surabaya. Hope they revitalise it again, we need better direct transportation than Angkot.
A lot of tram systems in Asia were dismantled after the war to the 1960s.
Salt Lake City resident here. I use Trax (what we call our streetcars) almost everyday for work and other personal errands. It connects a decent amount of the Salt Lake metro area and beyond together and if plans for expansion end up happening, it’ll be even better and more accessible. It’s packed during the week and even on weekends for people going to work, school, or to just go downtown.
Please put "in the us" in your title thanks.
No
Archer K why
@@Master-kh6ww because it's an American website, and this is obviously talking about the US. If it was some random obscure country they could put it in the title.
@@AKPhilly but RUclips is a global platform
Interesting video, I love streetcars. I'm surprised Toronto was completely glossed over, as the city's extensive streetcar network is heavily used on a daily basis and is seeing ongoing development. It's also, by far, the largest in North America. Toronto is a great case study for the utility of streetcars, particularly since we've had them here for 100+ years, and they've never gone away.
The way the gold coast implemented trams (or streetcars) works quite well, as it is separated from the road (but it still follows the road's path) so you still get the added lanes and a streetcar! the only time it's on the road is at intersections really
Also the only tram/light rail in the world with surf board racks.
that's the most important point ahaha. the thing is in australia we are very small in terms of popular and historical infrastructure so we can create systems easier and add the wide roads around where the g link is fairly easily unlike more built up and cramped cities
the system in Gold Coast is classified as light-rail. Light-rail exist in the US too, the street cars are something different.
William E. Knox i didn't know light rail and trams were different, you learn something new everyday
There are differences between trams (streetcars) and light rail
1. Light rail runs either off road or if on the road, in its own seperate lanes. Trams (strretcars) can operate in seperate lanes, off road or with mixed traffic
2. Light rail vehicles can operate as one massive vehicle with many segments (coupled to make 2 at most), whilst trams (streetcars) can either be one massive vehicle with many segments (coupled) to make two at most or many single segment units either operating indipendantly or coupled together with other single units to make a tram (streetcar) of lots of individual units
So, yea, trams (streetcars) can have the same characterics as light rail vehicles
3. (And this is NOT a hard and fast rule) trams (streetcars) tend to have more frequent stops with shorter lines, whilst light rail vehicles have less frequent stops with longer lines. This, however, is not a hard and fast rule, and some tram (streetcar) lines can be longer with less frequent stops than light rail lines
i thought street cars were like... cars that arent race cars
In the U.S., the term _tram_ is more likely to be understood as an aerial tramway or a people-mover. The U.S. once had the horsecar for public transport. When they were electrified, they were called streetcars for the past 100 years. The streetcar system in the U.S. was the largest in the world. Here's a new video on the decline of streetcars in the U.S. ruclips.net/video/-cjfTG8DbwA/видео.html
Here is part of the explanation:
Why Public Transportation Sucks in the US
ruclips.net/video/-cjfTG8DbwA/видео.html
1. Toronto is not in an American city.
2. You could have usefully compared the cities that have never abandoned streetcars (like Toronto, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Boston) with cities who have re-introduced them. Toronto planned to get rid of its streetcars, but the public protested the reduction in mobility that would cause (not the reduction in development) and the streetcars have been kept and are being expanded.
3. Development isn't always bad. The renovation of the St. Clair line in Toronto has brought new business and residents to an economically depressed neighbourhood.
Good point. They have restricted their sample in a way that supports their thesis. If they had even included the American cities that never abandoned streetcars they would have to draw different conclusions.
Anyway, I don't understand how you increase development without improving mobility. If you look at the history of American transit you see that streetcars and subways have increased development by improving mobility.
As the title states, the focus of this video is the _comeback_ of streetcars in American cities that once had such systems in the past and were shutdown in the 1950s. It is not about systems that have been continually running.
The title doesn't state that, it just says streetcars are coming back. Streetcars are coming back in cities that have never abandoned them -- Toronto, for example. And all they say in the video is that there's a "massive resurgence" in streetcars, period, and that "there is a push for more streetcars," period.
What we can perhaps agree on is that the video doesn't make its argument very clear.
The title states _exactly_ that. "_The real reason streetcars are making a comeback_" Portland and Washington, D.C. are correctly listed. San Francisco is rightfully not listed because it never discontinued its streetcar lines. Toronto was mistakenly listed.
What the title doesn't say is that it's about cities who shut down their streetcar systems, and that would mean Toronto is correctly listed. Streetcars are making a comeback in Toronto even though its system was never shut down. New lines are being opened.
As I said, I or at least implied, I don't think they thought too carefully about how to make their argument. As far as I can see, either you or I could be right about what their intentions were.
Anyway, a further problem is that they didn't adequately analyze the issues of mobility and development, which often go hand in hand.
I mean we really shouldn't be driving so much in urban areas where it's easy to cycle or take transit.
The problem is that not every city is biking/walking/transit friendly.
So what do you suggest people living there do? move to NYC instead so they can walk? You live where you live, thats where your job is, your family, your friends. OH NO THE BUS IS CRAP, better move a 1000 miles away so i can walk around easier? Driving is great, enjoyable and an american pastime. You are a filthy red commie.
TheRealUnconnected Not what they meant. They meant that cities should invest in biking infrastructure and public transport.
I don’t get how y’all Americans grow up to be independent people if you’re going to school by a schoolbus or even brought by your parents.
Dutch children cycle to school alone from the age of 5 and max. 7. And they sometimes need to cycle distances of 6 miles or more thru the fields from the age of 11 if their High-School lies in a different municipality. Not to mention the fact that you’re not allowed to drive a car until you’re 18, and thus you are completely dependent on PT and bikes as a teen.
Damon That’s what I have been saying. If there’s a reliable public transit system where you are then you should use it. Not only you would avoid traffic but you will be able to read the news or catch up with your work and you will be helping out the environment too. I will always use public transit to get around the city no matter what.
It's not a past time if you are using it to get to work. That's not what that word means.
every Australian within a 100-meter radius of this video playing: A C T U A L L Y IT'S CALLED A *TRAM* AND *MELBOURNE* HAS A LIIIIIIIIINE
Whenever I hear "streetcar" I just think of Flanders shouting "STELLA!!!!!"
Ben Hood 😂😂😂😂😂
*Everyone in Melbourne, Sydney has only a shittly light rail.
Melbourne has the biggest tram network in the world*
only trams in backward countries
0:41 "Map of Modern U.S. Streetcars." ----- Highlights Toronto (Canada) on the map.
Somebody has to include the Canadians or they'd never get mentioned by anyone.
In Vienna they are everywhere!
atur chomicz America has a problem with everything, many Europeans cities have tons of trams
*America has problem with everything that is not a car.
juraj kusy because American automakers sabotaged mass transit so we'd have to use their cars and buses
MPcrazyscience Austria is not the same as Germany mein dude
Jack DayZ It's a different country
In Germany we call them "Straßenbahn" which means "street train" 1:1 translated.
I love German, it all makes perfect sense.
Or Tram.. lol
Vokabeln ja, grammatikalisches Geschlecht, Verbdeklination und Pluralformen... näääääh.
That's right, Strassenbahn combinated with U-bahn (subway) get you anywhere in Berlin.
Reminds me of the museumsinsel in Berlin, translated to musuem Island. An accurate description of what it is :)
Mardiff V. Bedeutet U-Bahn unterirdische Bahn?
I live in Kansas City MO and the streetcar line that was completed a couple of years ago through the middle of downtown has been hugely popular. Its free to ride and it runs through a part of the city where parking a car isn't easy if there is anything going on. It's only one line though and expansion seems to move at a snails pace.
how tf did you fail to mention Europe and all of their tram systems? And also Melbourne which has the largest tram system in the world? The US tram system is a joke, and they are barely making a comeback because there are so few in America, its just pitiful. At the very least you guys should've titled the video in the US. Everywhere else where trams are in use have been for ages and many since they've first debuted in the towns and cities. also its called a tram just don't even
European LRV/tram systems are not the focus of this video.
But wasn't the focus of the video about Washington DC specifically? Not the entire us, or European streetcar Network?
Augustine Daudu Yes, but they failed to explain why street cars didn’t work in DC. While they could’ve figured it out if they compared it to european networks
only trams in backward countries
As someone who lives in Melbourne, was surprised to see no mention of here's system tbh ://
Probably worth mentioning is also that a streetcar does not pollute the citys air
Really, does it run on hopes and dreams?
Larry Litmanen It runs on electricity, which thanks to the magic of long distance power transmission pollutes the air of a different city*, leaving the problem with somebody else and you with crisp clean air to breath, as well as the pleasant ding ding of a tram's bell and the illusion that you live in a civilised European city.
*or nowhere if you use nuclear, hydroelectric, wind or solar power.
That's right, streetcars do NOT produce fine-dust, diesel engines in buses are top fine-dustproducers. Fine-dust is a toxine which when inhales goes directly in your bloodstream.
Mardiff V. I never said electricity is dirtier than diesel. Original poster is of the opinion trams run on magic.
I guess they run on magic and unicorn farts then.
Streetcars (or trams as the rest of the world calls them) are great, but they do need to fill in a few basic requirements:
1. A line needs to be long enough to serve at least two stops that are at least 5km apart. The longer a line is, the more useful it can be.
2. A line needs to be as straight as possible, downtown loops are useless
3. It needs to connect multiple important points, such as universities, hospitals or malls, but doesn’t need to terminate there. Once a network of a few lines is established, lines with less important destinations can be added. Traditionally a first line would connect a trains station with its number one and/or two destination nearby, but sadly most US cities have no or very limited train services.
4. Give it priority. In fact, this is dead easy for most US cities, but they don’t seem to have the guts to do it. Lots of streets in the US are four, six or even more lanes wide, just use two of them for the streetcar. Choose the middle lanes! As easy as it sound to choose the outer lanes so stops can be on the curb, the middle lanes are far better for a faster flow. It also makes a street much easier to cross, as it gives a natural split in three sections, of which the middle sees far less vehicles than the others. Don’t be afraid that reserving lanes for streetcars and busses will worsen traffic. Most city streets don’t really need that extra lane and if they do, the congestion will only incentivise using the streetcar. Even better, mix it with pedestrianisation. Streets with only pedestrians, bicycles and streetcars are great and very good for retail.
5. Just take a conventional standard, length is more important than bling. Things like ‘catenary-free operation’ only make the system more expensive, while properly designed overhead wires have minimal (or even positive) visual impact. It’s wicked that some cities demand ‘catenary-free’ sections to hide “ugly wires”, even though they have huge ugly concrete highway viaducts running through downtowns.
well said
Honestly, living in Milan and passing along the 2 and 14 tram lines everyday, I don't mind the wires up top and in my city there are even electric trolleybuses with wires up top so I think the workers are capable of making them look good or something.
Bravo
+DingeZZ
1. I agree.
2. Tell that to the busiest tram line in Europe, the 3/4-circular 4 and 6 in Budapest. (200 000 people/day).
3. I agree. Another thing to add is that vehicles need to be long enough to be financially viable. A major advantage of a tram is that you pay for only one driver to transport as many people as 2 or 3 busses. The ones in Washington and Portland are small enough that their job could be done with articulated buses.
4. Agreed for giving priority, in some countries, like Czech Republic and Slovakia, trams have the right of way even over pedastrians on street crossings.
For the lanes it doesn't really matter, as long as you reserve them for trams only. In many cities in Europe, trams travel along the grass area that divides the directions of traffic. In others, Osijek in Croatia for example, there are grass areas with tracks along the sides of the street.
The city I live in, Zagreb, has probably the largest amount of tram tracks along the outer lanes in the world, and the operating speed is not that bad. They are not physically separated, but instead marked as bus lanes if possible. As long as the traffic lights are set correctly (which in Zagreb they aren't) this shouldn't be an issue.
5. I agree with this as well, the bling along the lines like 'catenary-free' seems to be mostly a French thing, other countries don't really care, probably because the wires have been there for over 100 years.
Well, certainly successful lines can be circular, but they need to be large enough and are probably a bad place to start. You would want to have at least three radial lines before starting with any tangential line. My remark on straightness was more opposed to small downtown loops (like the Cincinnati Bell Connector) or inefficient routing (like the First Hill line in Seattle). Especially one-way loops should be averted as much as possible, only small loops on the end of a line (like the Kansas City Streetcar) can (but are not guaranteed to) be useful. Also, splitting up the directions on differ streets makes the catchment area smaller, not bigger, since most people want to go back at some point.
As for choosing the right lane, it kind of depends I guess. In theory, using the middle lane would give less points of conflict with other traffic, put it depends on the situation if it really makes a difference. The thing is that for a reserved lane on the curb-side is that you would need to completely eliminate on-street parking on that street and even though I think that is actually a good thing, most Americans are highly opposed to that idea. Another point is that some tend to appoint the last section before each intersection of a reserved lane on the outer side for right-turning traffic, which doesn't really help.
Here in Amsterdam, the tram lanes are always either in the middle of the road or both on a separate trackbed on one side. There are only nine places where the two directions are separated by more than a metre (except for end loops), six are roundabouts, one is a split viaduct, one is a street with a very wide pedestrian and green space in the middle and the last one has a palace in the middle.
In the English Midlands, we had a tram for about 20 years, between Wolverhampton and Birmingham. However, at both ends, they terminated at the peripheral of the CBD. Now, the Birmingham extension that takes you right into the city even to the major railway terminal has seen passenger numbers leap. And this is now driving business cases for more lines in and around the conurbation. So if you build them to where people want to go, then people will use them.
We've had streetcars in Philly forever. Some even go underground then come back up to the surface!
those are lrt’s
I'm surprised you never mentioned Minneapolis or even showed it on the map for streetcars. They were one of the very first cities to implement the "Portland" model.
Ian Langsev Right, I was so confused why they didn’t include the twin cities in the video especially with the new South west light rail route being planned.
Charlie Robinson yeah ik! I was just super surprised by it lol. Glad you agree
Ian Langsev They probably didn't mention Minneapolis because they don't have an operating streetcar yet.
They have a lot of "Light-rail" systems... it's the same thing as a streetcar. Are you from MN? because I am lol
I was wondering why they didn't shot the light rail, maybe cuz it sucks and is stops at lights
trams are already very popular in Europe
Look at Melbourne, Australia! They have one of the best tram network in the world. I stayed there for a month and found them clean , convenient , and fast way better than buses could ever be
To everyone shouting "It's a tram," "A tram named Desiree" just doesn't have the same ring to it.
You forgot to mention GM's greed and corruption destroying public transportation
I know.
I wonder if Ford and Chrysler were involved to any degree in getting rid of streetcars?
you do realize that is an urban legend right? they did not "destroy public transportation"
MR.Chickennuget 360 - I think GM did a pretty good job of helping get rid of streetcars. Many of the city streetcars were doing poorly when GM took over, but GM was known to buy controlling shares in profitable lines like the Key System and gradually abandon each line. The Great Depression was a serious blow to streetcars. I've often wondered what role GM played in "the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, which made it illegal for a single private business to both provide public transport and supply electricity to other parties, caused great difficulties for the streetcar operators which were frequently also generators of electricity." (Wikipedia)
Do you believe GM to be innocent in the destruction of streetcars? GM is part of the powerful highway lobby and has been probably since GM's inception.
MR.Chickennuget 360 There's a lot if evidence it's true.
In Portugal we call them Elétricos (electrics). We have few.
IMAN
That's a pretty good name, actually.
Sgt. Eclair indeed it is.
IMAN I love that in Lisbon you guys still have the classic trams, it gives a certain romantic vibe to the city.
We have one of them from Porto here in San Francisco. www.streetcar.org/streetcars/
IMAN That's awesome! Damn, tram is a stupid name, everyone should call them electrics.
It looks weird for me, because for example streetcar (or tram) in Bratislava, Slovakia is going across the city and it's usually crowded, and streetcar going across some American same-size city is more like ghost transport. North America and Europe are really different :)
I grew up right next to DC in the 60s. Washington Dc had a very large and well run strteet car system. Oil companies and tuire manufacturers were instrumental in killing the street car system and now we see history repeating itself.
These streetcars don't compare to one called Desire.
Well, in Melbourne our ‘minor’ tram delays are about 30 minutes
Angus Cha but the tram system in melbs is pretty solid. Many people use them, and they're very inexpensive. Just imagine there weren't any ... the streets would be jammed 24-7.
Also it's free to use in the CBD.
Lashan Ranasinghe CBD = central business district but are known as downtown in America
It's very expensive if you're going just a few stops. You pay the same ($4 for 2-hr ticket, $8 for full day) regardless of distance. Whether you're just going to the next stop 50 yards away, or going the full line 8 miles away, the ticket cost is $4. Many people don't bother to 'buy' a ticket for short journeys & jump on for free (no conductor on board). But they do have 'tram police' who can fine you for no ticket.
Angus Cha in Rome the tram is fantastic, fast and air-conditioned, only problem is rush hours you can't even get on board.
The city i live in would instantly collapse without trams. And bruh, watching this as a european is just painful
The biggest problem a few cities like Atlanta and Cincinnati are having is that only half of the riders are paying. They need to either enforce the laws against theft or make the rides free. The people who are stealing the streetcar services are making it appear that the streetcars are not being used as much as they really are.
Honestly if that is a problem, roll out more reduced or free fair systems.
it's called a tram
In the U.S., the term _tram_ is more likely to be understood as an aerial tramway or a people-mover.
Portland has one of those, too. And it has a regular light rail network that gets the right of way.
+RaymondHng
In the US, I've never heard the term "tram" before in my life! I thought it was something Brits called baby buggies...but apparently that's "pram."
There are only two _commuter_ aerial tramways in the United States which may explain the low awareness of the term.
good input champ
Imagine being angry because people call the same thing a different name😳
Damn...Look at these salty Euros lol
In finland we have had trams for a very long time
First tram in Helsinki was in 1890, I do believe.
Plus, the only bar tram in the world :P
@@joonastalvinen Not true. I could name at least 2 German cities with a bar tram
Guys, they arent called trams or street cars, they're obviously called electric wheelie move tubes.
guys they're not called trams or street cars or electric wheelie move tubes, they're called super-duper electrical train people-mover contraption 9000's. get it right, people.
It would have been interesting to mention London, Edinburgh, Manchester too. All cities have recently reintroduced trams and they're incredibly popular
I grew up riding streetcars in St. Louis. It was far better than a bus to me. The sound of the rails, the sway of the cars, the knowledge of where it was going and would go, all made the trip more interesting. Now they are building a short two mile line which I fear will be like the DC new short system. People want to travel to a destination not just constantly have to change from one system to another. I often wonder how they built the extensive city and interurban systems and so fast. Now everything gets tied up in lawsuits, paper work. inspections. And the cost is rather outrageous as well. Maybe if you never grew up riding them you don't see the charm to them, but if you did you will miss them as I do.
Today in Europe, there are countless cities with extensive tram networks. An example of a European country, Austria. The cities of Innsbruck and Graz has an incredible tram networks.
I'm from Melbourne, Australia. I love trams, it is central to Melbourne's identity
DiscretelyContinuous we have the largest tram network in the world!
I wonder if it's called a tram. I don't see any comments about it.
There are many comments about it. In the US, trams can be confused for an aerial tramway, most notably in Portland, Oregon which has an aerial tram _and_ a streetcar
and a light-rail service that acts a lot like a streetcar
Nathan Adam I was being sarcastic my dude.
Well then I completely understand my man Nathan
hell yeah, Nathan's rule the world
I filmed the new street car systems in Cincinnati and in Detroit.
Jaw Tooth I love the QLine
Denver fired a non producing Board of Directors. Like the VTA in Silicon Valley, complete " trains to nowhere " and plenty of empty trains. RTD Light rail has full cars because of the influx of lousy, brain dead Californucators that turned I-25 into highway 101 in the SFBA. You see FULL RTD Light Rail trains while I-25 along side is gridlocked. Denver DID have streetcars an reclaimed the ROW back to build the light rail system. most were HUD homes at that point.
If you want to see how GMC and GM did it," Who Framed Roger Rabbit " has a serious side that actually portrayed the death of street cars.
Downtown Detroit is really cool!
Development was the reason for the original streetcars as well. The first suburban boom was made possible by coordinated construction of streetcar routes.
trams have been in Melbourne (Australia) for the past 100 years an they work pretty well for the most part
I though this story was very interesting and informative, but I wished it touched on the Toronto streetcar. Toronto is a city where the streetcar’s are busier than the buses. Portland has 17 streetcars, 7miles of track, and 4 million riders. Whereas, Toronto has hundreds of streetcars, 52 miles of track and has annual riders of 100 million.
This video discusses streetcars making a comeback in cities that discontinued them as the title states. Long-running systems such as Toronto and San Francisco do not fall under this topic.
But they include Toronto, which is probably the source of the confusion.
Portland's streetcar is only an downtown circulator. If you include the entire electrified light-rail system (MAX), that adds another 40-million annual riders 60-miles of system track, and 126 articulated cars (some made by Bombardier in Toronto). When you consider Toronto is nearly 3x the size of Portland, the per-capita ridership is actually higher in Portland.
@Jonathan Da Costa
And Hongkong only needs 13 km and around 150 single but doubledecker streetcars transporting 100 M riders a year....... ;)
In Denver they've been going crazy adding to the light rail. It's so nice. I took it even though I had a car. The station was a 2 minute walk to my work. It would take me 10-15 min less on the light rail than driving due to rush hour traffic. No rush hour and it took about the same time.
I live in Vienna, that probably has the best public transportation system in the world and trams (not street cars) have huge impact on the city mobility. The net work of trams here is massive and covers all the city.
In Calgary, Alberta we have the ctrain (light rail transit) and it works great. It connects the whole city and tons of people use it.
Olivia Graham nah, Toronto is the best. (YOU OIL HOGS!!! CLIMATE CHANGE IS REAL!!! WHY ARE YOU EXPANDING THE TRANS MOUNTAIN PIPELINE?!?)
In Nottingham (UK) we have trams which stretch out all the way into the suburbs in places. They can get quite overcrowded. I think that the trick to having large quantities of people using streetcars/trams is, like any public transport system, based mainly around its convenience. This convenience is really in turn rooted in the systems presence and ease of access.
"The case for building steetcars has historical precedent."
Oh, you don't say!
In India, trams are dying.
In Egypt, they're dying in Cairo, but Alexandria got new European-style rolling stocks.
Dear Vox, I live in metro Detroit and am absolutely in love with Detroit and its massive progress. I’m still in high school, but my dreams consist of living in downtown Detroit. I think making a video on Detroit and its newfound success, along with how we could see more improvement in the rest of the city, outside of downtown, would make for a very cool video. Do some research into the housing markets, and property values, and new projects throughout metro Detroit, and I believe you’ll find that Detroit is beginning to make its comeback. If you read this, thank you for reading and your time. I’m a huge fan of the way your videos are made, and the very much important subjects they’re on. Obviously, Detroit is still in rough shape, but the media still portrays it as well, the worst city in the United States, (I believe it was Wall Street Journal that named it the #1 worst city in America) but I just don’t see how that’s even possible, like, have they even been here to see for themselves?! Anyways, I’d love to see a Detroit video soon!
Detroit has lost more than 2/3 of its former population and it continues to drop. Vast sections of the city are either abandoned or vacant. Because of the low tax base, the city filed for bankruptcy, so it can't provide services for anyone. Not that there would be any people to run those services. It has the highest crime rate of any major US city. That isn't progress; it's degradation. You may live in a safer and more prosperous section of the city, but the city as a whole is falling apart. It will take more than a few housing advertisements for Detroit to gain respect again.
Run, don't walk from Detroit. The population is headed to zero.
It's slowly making a comeback but it's concentrated downtown and it may be that way for the next 10-15 yrs. The decline continued and spread throughout the city. I attended high school downtown but lived 20 mins away by car in the Warrendale neighborhood. I graduated and about three years later in 2012 the decline spread to my old neighborhood and my family had to move. I think it would be awesome to see extended rails throughout the city (and serve the metro area) since many streetcar systems are installed to stimulate economic growth and not just to move people from one place to another. It's far from possible right now. As the blight, crime and subsequent negative population shifts finally moved to the outer neighborhoods, it'll be a while before such transportation would extend. Right now it's all about downtown, it's fine, but gentrification tends to displace people who had been there all along and kept Detroit afloat while it was on its last leg. Detroit's history played a part in its stalled progress since the late 60s. All in all, I'm glad to see more life being brought to downtown Detroit.
Carlover213 I can't believe Detroit is building a streetcar line. It would seem to be the worst selection for one. What a waste of money. It's a dying city on the way out unless some economic miracle occurs.
Carlover213 Lol don’t listen to the these idiots. I live in Detroit and I am seeing the resurgence with my own young eyes. Yeah there is urban decay around, yes the city is in hard times but this was a 60 year downfall. It’s gonna take a while but it’s getting better and better here in the city!
The streetcar near my Toronto home has a dedicated lane, which improves its functioning greatly. (Rebuilding the line this way was a messy, overlong process, but now that it's finished we're getting the advantages!)
It’s kinda funny hearing about the streetcar comeback after living in Toronto my whole life, where we’ve had street cars for decades with no change apart from occasional line extensions.
In Melbourne (aus) Trams have been always really popular, it has become a big part of the culture
Backgammon 88 your right
We still have them in San Francisco. Last week was the 100 birthday of the L Taraval streetcar line near me. We also have two of Melbourne's trams in our historic fleet.
www.streetcar.org/streetcars/496-496-Melbourne-Australia/
www.streetcar.org/streetcars/916-916-Melbourne-Australia/
In my country we have lots of streetcars and so much lines
WhoStoleMyPassport
Latvia? Which country?
They were always popular in Eastern Europe.
I think one of the biggest issue is these routes are often extremely short, often only a mile or two downtown in mixed traffic. If they’re as slow as a bus, more expensive to run, and don’t take you as far as a bus, then people won’t ride them. Streetcars in the past thrived by offering faster and smoother transport than buses, across much longer distances. They definitely can work for transport, but they need a wide reach and priority in traffic.
The other issue with streetcars in America is they’re often chosen for places where they don’t fit. Often they’re chosen for a route that really should be a light metro or AGT, because they’re 50% cheaper, even if that comes at the cost of being 75% slower and having a fraction of the capacity.
Streetcars are great for boosting the economy, and they can be great for transit too, they just need to be properly thought out. I would love to be able to get a tram from my street all the way to downtown, but I’d never pay a fare to travel a mile downtown unless it’s vastly quicker than walking.
I'm proud of that the trams in Washington D. C. are from our country.
Inekon 2001 Trio, but with high weight seats,, and ŠKODA LTM 10.08
Skoda makes the cars for Tacoma, WA too.
We have them here in berlin as well and they're the means of transport i use the most whenever i can't walk the distance but don't feel like going by bike. I wouldn't want to miss them and i feel they give a certain flair to our neighborhoods but i guess that's largely because they've been around for so long and are so implemented into our city planning and infrastructure. We have quite an extensive light rail network in the eastern half of the city. And i can't stand busses. I'd never heard the term street car before now, the more you know! I think they're mostly good for short distance trips, but that's all you need if you live in the heart of the city.
STRAßENBAHN!!1!
wöd yersplatf sorry I don't speak Hitler
Black Guy well that escalated quickly
wöd yersplatf warum nicht das große ß?
STRAẞENBAHN (now that we have it, we may as well use it)
Hallo (sorry for my bad french)
It’s nice when they can give them a sectioned off area so they don’t compete with cars, which is one of the big reasons buses replaced them as buses with tires can accelerate faster, go more locations easier/cheaper and cars/people don’t have to go over the rails.
That's called right-of-way tracks.
We have a very large tram network in Melbourne, Australia 🇦🇺 It covers a radius of upwards of 15-20km out of the cbd. It then turns into light rail in some places.
It replaces so many cars.
A lot of people in the inner city don’t bother ever getting a licence as they can rely on trams and trains.
Meh, here in Minnesota we have the Lightrail. I go on it rarely, though I also don't live in Minneapolis which is where 75% of the stops are. It's very useful for those that can use it, but they only live and/or work in Minneapolis. That said, I think they want to open up a line in Saint Paul which I REALLY want.
There's a lot of tram-a about streetcars.
Wait, in US the streetcar in US does not have reserved lane?
I mean in europe, StreetCars in city are better than car (given it takes you where you need) because they can't be in traffic jam.
It's basically like metro, but cheaper to make.
In San Francisco, they have been running underground in tunnels and on right-of-way tracks and semi-reserved lanes for the past 100 years.
Having visited Poland, the one thing I enjoyed the most was the public transportation; it was dirt cheap and took me exactly where I needed to go when I paired it with Google Maps. Growing up in the U.S, public transport is seen as lower class because for the most part it is; it's advertised and shown off as a means for low income individuals to get around an urban and suburban area. While public transport does end up benefitting the poor more so, part of getting public support up is the rebranding of it as something for everybody of all income levels and social status. It should be advertised as a means to conserve fuel if you just gotta run to the store or going out for dinner and as a means to help the environment. But what people overall want is convenience. Trams and buses follow the same traffic as cars and pair that with frequent stops then it can be slower than simply hopping in your car. To meet the demand for speed it would be more optimal for cities to begin adopting light rails