Editing Tram (section)

=== Advantages ===
[[File:Canal Street Streetcar, New Orleans.jpg|thumb|Produced in 1923–24, 900 Series trams are still use in [[Streetcars in New Orleans|New Orleans]]. Trams typically have longer service life than internal combustion buses.]]
[[File:Flickr - IngolfBLN - Nantes - Tramway - Ligne 3 - Orvault (17).jpg|thumb|A tram running down [[green track|tracks embedded in grass]] in [[Nantes]].]]
[[File:Fiat Cityway Messina T11.jpg|thumb|[[Trams in Messina|Tramway system in Messina]], opened in 2003]]

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* Trams (and road public transport in general) can be much more efficient in terms of road usage than cars – one vehicle replaces about 40 cars (which take up a far larger area of road space).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.humantransit.org/2012/09/the-photo-that-explains-almost-everything.html|title=Human Transit|date=21 September 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150331233137/http://www.humantransit.org/2012/09/the-photo-that-explains-almost-everything.html|archive-date=31 March 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/sr/sr257.pdf|title=Special Report 257: Making Transit Work<!-- Bot generated title -->|access-date=12 March 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808042854/http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/sr/sr257.pdf|archive-date=8 August 2017}}</ref>
* Vehicles run more [[Fuel efficiency in transportation|efficiently]] compared to similar vehicles that use rubber tyres, since the [[rolling resistance]] of steel on steel is lower than rubber on asphalt.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bathtram.org/tfb/tQ24.htm |title=Why are trams different from buses from Trams for Bath |publisher=Bathtram.org |access-date=8 December 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130608062642/http://www.bathtram.org/tfb/tQ24.htm |archive-date=8 June 2013}}</ref>
* Trams and light rail transit use sustainable technologies like electric propulsion and support limiting urban sprawl which in return lowers the carbon footprint.<ref>{{cite book |last1=van der Bijl |last2=van Oort |title=Light Rail explained: Better public transport & more public transport |date=2014 |publisher=European Metropolitan Transport Authority |pages=17–19 |url=https://research.tudelft.nl/en/publications/light-rail-explained-better-public-transport-and-more-than-public |ref=LRE14}}</ref>
* There is a well studied effect that the installation of a tram service – even if service frequency, speed and price all remain constant – leads to higher ridership and mode shift away from cars compared to buses.<ref>{{cite book |last1=European Conference of Ministers of Transport |title=Scope for the Use of Certain Old-Established Urban Transport Techniques (Trams and Trolley-Buses) |date=1977 |publisher=OECD Publications and Information Center |location=Washington, D.C. |page=63 |url=https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/transport/scope-for-the-use-of-certain-old-established-urban-transport-techniques-trams-and-trolley-buses_9789282105740-en}}</ref> Conversely, the abandonment of tram service leads to measurable declines in ridership.
* Being guided by rails means that even very long tram units can navigate tight, winding city streets that are inaccessible to long buses.
* Tram vehicles are very durable, with some being in continuous revenue service for more than fifty years. This is especially true compared to internal combustion buses, which tend to require high amounts of maintenance and break down after less than 20 years, mostly due to the vibrations of the engine.
* In many cases tram networks have a higher capacity than similar buses. This has been cited as a reason for the replacement of one of Europe's busiest bus lines (with three-minute headways in peak times) with a tram by [[Dresdner Verkehrsbetriebe]].
* Due to the above-mentioned capacity advantage, labor costs (which form the biggest share of operating costs of many public transit systems) per passenger can be significantly lower compared to buses.
* Trams and light rail systems can be cheaper to install than subways or other forms of [[heavy rail]]. In Berlin the commonly cited figure is that one kilometer of subway costs as much as ten kilometers of tramway.
* ULR (Ultra Light Rail) developments with prefabricated track and onboard power (no OHL Over Head Line) in the UK are aiming for £10 m per km<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/target-cost-timescale-revealed-coventry-light-rail-scheme-25-09-2019//|title=Target cost and timescale revealed for Coventry very light rail scheme <!-- Bot generated title -->|date=25 September 2019|access-date=}}</ref> as opposed to convention tram rail and OHL at £20–£30 m per km.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bathtrams.uk/4-cost-of-tram-light-rail-installation/|title=1 tram light rail track installation costs £20-£30 m per km is a good ball-park figure. <!-- Bot generated title -->|date=30 July 2019|access-date=}}</ref>
* Tramways can take advantage of old [[heavy rail]] alignments. Some examples include the [[Manchester Metrolink]] of which the [[Bury Line]] was part of the [[East Lancashire Railway]], the [[Altrincham Line]] was part of the [[Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway]], and the [[Oldham and Rochdale Line]] was the [[Oldham Loop Line]]. Other examples can be found in [[Paris Tramway Line 2|Paris]], [[London]], [[Boston]], [[Trams in Melbourne|Melbourne]] and [[Sydney]]. They hence sometimes take advantage of high speed track while on train tracks.
*As tram lines are permanent this allows local authorities to redevelop and revitalise their towns and cities provided suitable planning changes are made.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01957503|title=The renaissance of tramways and urban redevelopment in France <!-- Bot generated title -->|year=2017|doi=10.1515/mgrsd-2017-0005|access-date=|last1=Boquet|first1=Yves|journal=Miscellanea Geographica|volume=21|issue=1 |pages=5–18|s2cid=54004937|doi-access=free|bibcode=2017MiscG..21....5B }}</ref> Melbourne will allow higher buildings (5 to 6 story) along tram routes leaving the existing suburbs behind unchanged whilst doubling the cities density.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.transformingaustraliancities.com.au/wp-content/uploads/Transforming-Australian-Cities-Report.pdf|title=Transforming Australian Cities : Urban corridors <!-- Bot generated title -->|access-date=}}</ref>
* Trams produce less air pollution than rubber tyred transport which produce tyre, asphalt and brake based pollutants. The use of regenerative electric motor braking in trams lowers mechanical brake use. Steel wheel and rail particulates are produced but regular wheel alignment and flexible track mounting can reduce emissions.
* Tram networks can link to other operational heavy rail and rapid transit systems, allowing vehicles to move directly from one to the other without passengers needing to alight. Trams that are compatible with heavy rail systems are called [[tram-trains]], while those that can use subway tunnels are called [[semi-metro]], [[pre-metro]] or [[Stadtbahn|U-Stadtbahn]].
* Trams can integrate more effectively with pedestrian heavy environments than other forms of transport due to compactness and predictable movement. Passengers can reach surface stations quicker than underground stations. Subjective safety at surface stations is often seen to be higher.
* Trams can be tourist attractions in ways buses usually are not.
* Many modern tram systems plant low growing vegetation – mostly grasses – between the tracks which has a psychological effect on perceived noise levels and the benefits of [[Urban open space|greenspace]]. This is not possible for buses as they deviate too much from an "ideal" track in daily operations.