This image from the article says it all:
Nottingham's tram remains a costly investment. The older units are now 14 years old and they could well last another 30 years if properly maintained, even converted to driverless when the time comes (probably closer than even I imagine — 5 years at most).
The tram though is loved by the middle class regardless of politics. They find it 'so easy to get on and off, so comfortable' as an active Labour Party member in Beeston said to me recently, oblivious to the cost and, seemingly, that Nottingham's trams are little better than cattle trucks when full.
The costs of construction in Nairobi are obviously different to those in the UK but even here they will vary considerably place to place but I'm pretty confident that the cost ratios are much the same. In other words for the same money you can have:
50km of bus ways/track.
13km of tram track.
9km of metro railway
Once on a modern bus using reserved track the ride is as good as any tram or train and has a flexibility denied to trams and trains, yet politicians and the middle classes still prefer the latter two over the bus!
'Oh look at me I can ride on a tram, so select, so me'.
I can only describe this attitude as public transport snobbery!
As I have in previous posts I remain a trolleybus person loving their smooth quiet ride. Nottinghamshire County Council's electric 510 bus route between Beeston and Stapleford has a ride as good as a trolleybus and navigates streets around Stapleford with a grace you have to experience to believe. I know no other word which describes the experience better. The bus is a monster for the roads it traverses and I am in awe of its drivers. All worthy of the title 'Bus driver of the year'.
Finally this photograph from The Guardian article. It looks like a painting. I love it.
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