TRAMS AND BUSES

TRAMS AND BUSES

As City populations exploded in the 1800s, there was an urgent need for mass transportation.

Trams were an early solution. The first trams, like buses, where horse-drawn, but in 1881, electric street tramways appeared in Berlin, Germany. Electric trams soon became widespread throughout Europe and North America. Trams run on rails along a fixed route, using electric motors that receive power from overhead cables. As road networks developed, motorized buses offered a flexible alternative to trams.By the 1930s, they had replaced tram systems in many cities.

City buses typically have doors at both front and rear to make loading and unloading easier. Double-decker designs are popular occupying the same amount of street space as single-decker buses but able to transport twice the number of people. Buses are also commonly used for inter-city travel and touring. Tour buses have reclining seats, large windows, luggage space, and toilets. Recently as city traffic has become increasingly congested many city planners have designed new tram routes to run alongside bus routes as part of an integrated transport system.