[bobthepanda]

there are a few

* recently a big trend is grass tramways. generally speaking this is more ecologically friendly by reducing impervious surfaces and replacing it with greenery, which generally lowers the urban heat island effect and is better for stormwater absorption. as a nice side effect, it is also generally a more visible differentiator from car lanes that people are less willing to drive over.

* trams are generally more capacious than buses because they are laid out better for more standing room. they are also more capacious because it is safer to run very long trams since the tram is fixed to the tracks; there are practical limits to how long a bus can be since a driver needs to be careful when switching lanes and whatnot. The longest single tram unit is 58m, the longest single bus is 32m; and you can couple trams together.

* trams don't really move side to side due to being fixed to tracks, so level boarding with little to no gap is much more realistic to achieve than on buses. This is generally much better for accessibility and speeds up boarding time; if you've spent any time riding a city bus, even a low floor bus spends a significant amount of time kneeling to achieve worse results for level boarding. And buses kneel not only for people in wheelchairs, but for people with strollers, with luggage, the elderly, etc.

[weard_beard]

Would just like to note one issue i have observed with the MPLS light rail: multi-car transit has less oversight and is more attractive for drug use and shelter for the homeless which lowers use by commuters. Our busses running the same routes are safer and better options.

[i80and]

I haven't seen these problems on the Minneapolis Metro even riding at night, but if it is actually a problem, it seems like the solution is build out actual infrastructure to support the homeless community.

Which Minneapolis very much does not have right now despite the best efforts of one or two plucky underfunded nonprofits.

If your light rail cars are the best option people have, that's not an issue with the transit design, that's an issue with the rest of the infrastructure

[weard_beard]

It’s a severe problem in mpls. Are you sure we’re talking about the same city and rail system? Never heard it called “the metro”. I was born and raised in DC where that’s what folks call the subway… only ever heard it called the light rail…

[i80and]

The rapid transit system in Minneapolis, MN is called the Metro. Technically that includes the bus rapid transit system, but I'm just talking about the light rail since I do prefer it over the buses.

All I can say is I've never seen any issues on the LRT. I'm genuinely sorry you have.