Matthew Russell: “Streetcars, also known as trollies, are mass transit vehicles that operate on rail lines embedded in normal roadways…”

“Streetcars, also known as trollies, are mass transit vehicles that operate on rail lines embedded in normal roadways, often drawing electrical power from overhead structures. From 2009 to 2014, the Department of Transportation awarded $432 million for streetcar projects in 14 cities throughout the country. Streetcars are highly impractical from a public transit standpoint. Like a bus, but unlike a train, a streetcar's speed is constrained by the speed of traffic around them. Unlike a bus, however, they are bound by their tracks. If anything blocks the tracks, such as an accident or a construction project, the entire line shuts down, making it an inefficient form of transportation. Streetcars are costly to build and operate. They require extensive infrastructure, including tracks and overhead power, that is not required for buses. Per passenger, per mile, they are also significantly and consistently more costly to operate than buses. According to a 2013 Journal of Public Transportation study, they fail or are at the bottom of all efficient forms of transportation. The Congressional Research Service can find no clear evidence that streetcars increase transit ridership. Streetcar corridors that saw economic growth often benefited from other substantial subsidies. It is unclear if streetcars contributed to this growth.…”