In the UK in the 1950s and 1960s, trams and trolleybuses were considered to be old technology belonging to a bygone era ripe for replacement by the all-conquering bus. Lack of investment and non-existant traffic management meant that trams and trolleybuses were hurriedly abandoned in the firm belief that buses would prove to be a cheaper and more attractive alternative to the car. However, nothing could have been further from reality. By the 1970s, bus usage was in serious decline and public road transport in the UK became what many still consider to be little more than an extension of the welfare state.
But in most parts of Europe things were different. Traditional tram systems were gradually modernised and transformed into a mode now known as light rail with segregated lines and fast, comfortable vehicles. The proven success of the light rail concept soon spread worldwide and new examples can now be seen in many countries, attracting passengers away from their cars and improving the quality of urban life. Even car-loving North America has embraced light rail to help turn run-down and neglected downtown areas into vibrant and attractive shopping, commercial and leisure destinations.
After a worldwide decline in trolleybus operation, modern articulated trolleybuses are now experiencing a resurgence of interest in many towns and cities where traffic levels don’t justify light rail but clean air is valued. Although far cheaper to introduce than light rail, trolleybuses cannot handle the same passenger flows and the speed and infrastructural flexibility of light rail. However, serious interest in modern trolleybuses has yet to penetrate UK transport planning.
Meanwhile, the rest of the world gets on with modernising, expanding and building new systems, letting the UK decide whether it wants bendy-buses or a new version of Routemaster in London, or token sections of guided-bus or bus-lanes in provincial suburbs. Once more, trams have become a political football, kicked between pro-tram and pro-bus camps preventing sensible and long-term planning. The consequence is inertia and increasing road congestion. When will we ever learn?
In this superb photographic collection Paul Haywood gives an excellent pictorial overview of trams and trolleybuses in their operating environment ‘Worldwide’ during the past 30-years.
240mm x 170mm. Landscape hard cover. 118 photographs
Author: Paul Haywood
Title: Trams and Trolleybuses Worldwide
Format: Hardback Book 112 pages
Publisher: DTS Publishing
Pub date: Aug 2006
ISBN: 9781900515412
