Trolleys v trams

I am alarmed at the apparent plans to spend massive sums of money on unnecessary trams and tram lines.

I grew up with these, and remember them as menaces to cyclists, ambulances and fire engines. Also, a stone in the rail could derail a tram and cause miles of gridlock.

Compared with trolley buses the installation and maintenance costs of tram infrastructure is astronomical and inflexible.

The tram lobby claims trolley buses can't be built with the passenger capacity of trams. I strongly challenge that in view of the large six-wheel double decker trolleys we had before the cheap petrol of the 1960s put them out of business. The pro-trammers also claim that cyclists can 'happily weave across tram lines'. Try that in a busy street.

Max Lazarus

University of Lancaster