Trackless Trams: Yet Another Gadgetbahn

With major publications shedding light on the new Chinese tram (bus) invention, the Autonomous Rapid Transit have we found a shortcut to good transit? Or just another rubber tired mess?

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Ever wondered why your city's transit just doesn't seem quite up to snuff? RMTransit is here to answer that, and help you open your eyes to all of the different public transportation systems around the world!

Reece (the RM in RMTransit) is an urbanist and public transport critic residing in Toronto, Canada, with the goal of helping the world become more connected through metros, trams, buses, high-speed trains, and all other transport modes.

[RMTransit]

If you enjoyed this video make sure to share it with someone tempted by the allure of nice looking buses!

Also, I hope your city doesn’t get snow. New York doesn’t get snow right?

[mausklick]

You mean buses? I swear I thought you were talking about buses.

[tapio_m]

"Permanent" railway also works as a massive signal for the economy that the city is investing heavily in the transportation system along the route. Having a system that is easily removed from the suggested route means that whoever wants to invest in the area along the route will have to bear the additional risk that the city might change its mind and make the "reachability" of that area worse. This will lead to a lower willingness to invest in the first place.

[cco]

I appreciate the attention given to NYC buses as an NYC bus rider. Traffic signal priority was pitched when they installed Select Bus Service and I have not seen it in action anywhere. The bus network redesigns have been moving at a glacial pace after being suspended during the pandemic and I hope they can get them all done by mid-decade. My borough's bus routes have changed little overall since the 70s and really need an update.

[SeanMather]

So, a guided bus with painted “tracks” will work super great in New York and the rest of the north….except for when it snows and you can no longer “see” the guides…. Yup, great plan.

[CatnipMasterRace]

I'm glad you've made this, I saw the CNBC vid a few days ago and found it infuriating - especially considering they've otherwise recently made some pretty decent videos on other urbanist related issues.

[Dylang]

The Mayor of Brisbane Australia, Adrian Schrinner, hates it when people call his metro (with no rails, rubber wheels, and a driver with a steering wheel) a bus. But c'mon Adrian. We all know it's a bus.

[tomwatts]

One of the residential communities in my town (in the UK) opposes construction of a new connecting rail line nearby partly on the grounds that they believe "trackless trams and automated vehicles are on the horizon", despite the road link - and by extension bus route - to nearby cities often being riddled with traffic. As you mentioned it definitely feels like an extension of the much wider problem of 'new' or 'innovative' technology being promoted to solve problems (often by a single company or billionaire) over existing and far more practical solutions.

[mattevans]

I live in Liverpool, UK. They keep trying to push 'trackless tram' 'technology' (a bus) onto us, even though the people have been asking for a proper tram network, for decades. And then the council turn around and act like they are listening to us. It's disgusting.

[anupjoseph]

Small correction, in the case of hyperloop, it should be extensively used in dreams, Powerpoints and spectacular CGI shots

[AverytheCubanAmerican]

Politicians are attracted to them simply for political points. This is just a BRT with extra steps! As impressive as it is for China to go from the Beijing-Tianjin line to connecting EVERY province in the country with their HSR network in just over a decade, that doesn't mean their other projects are immune to criticism. Due to the current political climate (the US Dept. of Defense listed them as a Chinese military company), CRRC is ineligible to receive production contracts in the US. They're still being held to complete their current contracts, but there is no incentive on the table to produce quality, which is partly why their new plant in Springfield, MA has been SO behind in their MBTA contract.

I get that they chose NYC because CNBC is based in the NYC metro area in New Jersey, but that just shows they're not true locals because if they were, they'd know that NYC RELIES on the subway to function. A "trackless tram" just wouldn't do on the ALREADY congested streets of Manhattan. Just look at the M42 route and how slow and unreliable THAT route is! Could you fix Manhattan's bus network? Of course you can, but you can solve that WITHOUT this gadgetbahn technology!

[Swedey]

So basically. A techbro version of buses

[javierpaz]

To all of that I would add that heavy vehicles on rubber tires put a lot of stress on the asphalt and are usually responsible of most bumps. Using steel tracks means that you can put a quite heavy vehicle through it without doing any damage to the road.

[tonywalters]

"Plans that are proposed, but just don't get built" I would say that is a common theme across North America, where there are a lot of proposals made but nothing ever gets beyond the planning stage.

[SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

I just find it funny how here in Pyongyang, we built two metro lines, four tram lines, twelve trolleybus lines, and recently added green bike lanes so the many cyclists of the city don't have to go in the car lanes, while other cities around the world STILL can't decide on which is the better gadgetbahn to build, a glorified bus or a monorail. Heck, while our Metro is famous for using old Berlin trains, we've recently built cars for the Metro IN-HOUSE! That's the power of Juche...SELF-RELIANCE! Our capital was DESTROYED TO THE GROUND after the war, and yet we got our act together and made the city a shining example of a transit city. So we ask the rest of the world, what is YOUR excuse?

[Fanw]

Thank you Reece for another superb video. Speaking from Europe (Britain), and having experience of a number of different types of 'guided' bus, I entirely agree with you.
I would however not use the term 'Trackless Tram', as that phrase is sometimes used in Britain for trolleybuses. I prefer the French phrase 'Tramways sur pneus' [tyres]. However, the French use that phrase both for the (now abandoned) TVR systems in Nancy and Caen, and for the 'Translohr' systems which still operate in eg Clermont-Ferrand and on Paris lines T5 and T6.

[catlerbatty]

All the damage of a heavy vehicle on roads, without the permanency of rails. Nothing could go wrong!

[b]

I loved how the CNBC video talked about how comfortable ART is while showing an cabin shot thats bouncing all over the place lol

[katrinabryce]

Edinburgh used to have a guided busway. It lasted about 5 years before they replaced it with a tram.
Cambridge has a misguided busway, which definitely wasn't cheap to build and doesn't really work that well.

[MyMemesAreTerrible]

Just gotta make a correction here- rubber tires don’t make a bus uncomfortable, the road does. Trams would be much more comfortable (and quieter) with rubber wheels instead of steel, that’s just basic physics. However rails are far more comfortable compared to asphalt because they last much longer, and imperfections can be quickly repaired to original condition.