Comment by _m_p
1 day ago
> Also, because of the expensive infrastructure that can only be used by trams, there’s a permanence there that prevents future politicians from ripping it out to put more cars on for a quick political win with drivers.
This is definitively not true. It's something people said about the Washington, DC streetcar and it turns out they are about to remove the streetcar in order to replace it with buses:
https://www.railwaygazette.com/light-rail-and-tram/dc-street...
I would have hoped it was clear that I never stated infrastructure was never ripped out, since there have been numerous examples of this happening, including my own home city. I’m merely making the point that tearing up tram lines is more costly than simply paying someone to cut paint lines off the road. That plus the initial investment creates an inertia against undoing it, though nothing prevents politicians pissing public money up the wall if they’re determined enough.