My nearest transport is a nice grassy tram track. Trams can rumble past street cafes and pedestrian areas with less disturbance and smell than a busy car road. But they don’t have the speed of an underground or rural train. Commuters usually want the fastest option. Trams have their place as part of an integrated system. But they take up surface space and get held up when they intersect with traffic or deep snow. Safety-wise they do occasionally hit an errant car or person on the line. A friend was hit and in a coma after not spotting a tram while crossing at a bad place. But people in the city normally get out of the way as they don’t want the driver to ring his loud bell at them.

So trams have their pros and cons.