pwn consulting: Steel-Steel vs. Rubber-Asphalt (Rails Good, Wheels Bad)

I've never liked taking the bus - but I'm usually ok with taking the streetcar.

Sent to you by nigel via Google Reader:

Steel-Steel vs. Rubber-Asphalt (Rails Good, Wheels Bad)

via Metronauts by Karl Junkin on 8/31/08

As comments by Ian Milligan raised the subject of an ever ongoing perception among people that use public transit in Sameer Vasta's "Pulling Parking Perks" post, I thought about the reasons that this perception exists. What could be responsible for people preferring rail vehicles to the bus?

Toronto has a rich history of public transit going back to the mid-1800s. The first bus service started in the early 1850s, but streetcars have been on Toronto's streets since as early as 1861. They were horse-drawn originally, but they introduced electric cars in the early 1890s, starting with Church St. Subway proposals have been floated since around 1910.

The steel that both wheels and rails are made of is vastly smoother than the granular and often unevenly-paved/repaired asphalt surfaces of our roads. While wear can eventually deform the steel wheels of a streetcar, rubber tires will take a greater beating on a daily basis (as will a bus's shocks). This all leads the bus to generally be associated as a bumpy ride. Streetcar wheels also don't have to worry about the air in the tires, which can be a factor in rider comfort (and efficiency) of the bus. You also can't encounter storm sewer grates and speed bumps or potholes on the rails, but a bus can.

The most obvious operational difference would be the fixed path characteristic of rail. For streetcars, many people point to this as a disadvantage, but there is a flip side to this coin, as it acts as an advantage as well.

Buses have to swerve over to the sidewalk whenever they service a stop. This is particularly annoying along streets that have parking in the outer lanes. The riders get thrown back and forth by the swerving of the vehicle by this, and also offers additional complications for the operator as the bus has to merge back into the flow of traffic as there's more parked cars in front of it up ahead. This slows down bus service a great deal, because buses don't control the traffic, traffic instead controls the bus.

Streetcars never swerve to the side of the road. In most parts of the network, the rider comes to the streetcar from the sidewalk. This gives the streetcar a speed advantage compared to a bus on the same route, because when passengers are loading, the streetcar blocks all lanes of traffic, and cars are required to wait. This both allows the streetcar to control traffic rather than be controlled by traffic, and increases rider comfort since it usually doesn't make any turns until the route/street itself bends.

Taking corners is another area where the bus is also uncomfortable. The bus, being a lighter vehicle, leans when it takes a sharp turn, but streetcars don't lean as much due to their heavier weight and slower turning speed. Streetcars also take a consistent or controlled radius throughout the curve versus the bus's inconsistent radius as it is dictated by the driver's steering.

While the streetcars are given a hard time for junctions and wheel squeal, when not at those points in the network, the bus is generally noisier than streetcars. Bus engines are loud, particularly when they accelerate, and their breaks are often squeaky (although that's a maintenance issue, it's quite common). This makes it generally noisy at every stop. As the bus has an exhaust pipe, the bus also smells. The noise carries into the bus's interior as well, especially at the back of the bus. Having no noisy engine or exhaust pipe, the streetcar is more pleasant, and the quiet atmosphere also makes the streetcar more social, as less mechanical noise leaves more room for conversation.

Longer streetcars can navigate narrow routes where an articulated bus might not be allowed, as the front, middle, and back tires of an articulated bus will not all follow the exact same path like a streetcar does where all bogies stick to the same rails. There are also a lot of people, myself included, who question the safety of buses with multiple articulations. One articulation is fine, but when it is more than that, vehicles that long really need to be on rails if people are going to beleive they're safe when they turn a corner, especially in the narrower streets of the former city of Toronto.

The streetcar is a clear keepsake despite some imperfections, and I don't beleive it is a misconception by the public when they think rail vehicles are superior to the bus… the experiences between the two modes clearly differ. It seems the bus is inherently at a handicap, so what will it have to do to overcome its drawbacks where the streetcar has succeeded for almost 150 years in Toronto?

Karl Junkin is an architectural technology graduate from Sheridan College, born and raised in Toronto, and has spent over 4 years working and living in Tokyo.