ARE TRAMWAYS DOOMED?

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 95, 16 January 1935, Page 8

ARE TRAMWAYS DOOMED?

According to a statement by the News-Chronicle of London the popularity of tramways has declined throughout Britain. Passenger journeys bv tramway decreased by 60,000,000 in 1933 as compared with 1932/while—this is the point—trolley bus traffic recorded an increase in the same year of 92,000,000. Is the tramcar doomed ? The advantages of the trolley bus over the tramcar arc simply stated: It is a compromise between the tram and the omnibus, but it is highly satisfactory, and a definite solution, of a problem which is difficult from many standpoints, not the least of which is finance. Where overhead current is already supplied in an existing tramway installation, much of the equipment is ready to hand. The main part of the change-over consists in the substitution of one vehicle for another, the original source of power being kept in use. In being free from a fixed or permanent way the trolley bus is more flexible than the tramcar; hence it tends to ease traffic congestion. If makes for greater safety in that it can be drawn up to the footpath, and it is far less noisy. Its most important advantage is that it can be operated along the sides of' the thoroughfare instead of in the centre, and hence other traffic is free to move along the centre uninterrupted by stops, which, as Wellington people know, are an increasing hindrance to the steady flow of vehicles. It may be the future solution of our traffic problems' will be found in the adaptation of the trolley bus to our existing overhead equipment. That a great saving in tramway track laying and maintenance would be effected is obvious. It has been asserted repeatedly, when this question has been ventilated, that the tramcar must always be the mainstay of city and suburban transport. But why' should it. if a better system offers? Some years ago the Wellington Irapiway Department tried out the trolley bus idea, and of all places selected a section from the present Thorndon Quay tramway terminal to Kaiwarra. The experiment in these circumstances was bound to fail, as fail it did. The vehicle used bore small resemblance to the modern trolley bus;’few used it when it was running; and nobody missed it when it disappeared. Is that to be the end of the matter? Surely not. Ihe statistic 1 - above-quoted reveal a trend in transport development which is worthy of serious attention and study. That'a new era in municipal transport is opening up Seems evident, and it would be wise to consider its implications before further- large expenditure is incurred in perpetuating a system of public transport which seems to have outrun its usefulness.