Decline of Trams in North America
However, Tram Systems soon faced challenges from other modes of transport. In the post-World War II era, rising automobile ownership and new government policies favoring cars and buses led to the rapid decline of trams across North America. Extensive tram networks were dismantled in cities like Detroit, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh and Los Angeles from the 1940s onwards. Only a handful of smaller systems in Boston, Philadelphia, New Orleans and San Francisco managed to survive into the 1950s before also giving way. By the 1960s, America's iconic trams had nearly vanished from city streets.

Resurgence of Trams in Europe and Asia
While trams disappeared from the urban landscape in the US, they retained their role as backbone public transport systems in many global cities. Extensive modernization helped reduce operating costs and improve reliability. In Western Europe, trams underwent a renaissance from the 1970s as cities like Zurich, Karlsruhe and Stuttgart developed light rail transit (LRT) systems combining features of rapid transit and traditional street running trams. More recently, Asian cities have taken to trams in a big way, with large-scale expansions across China, Japan, Taiwan and Southeast Asian nations. Today, over 400 cities worldwide have active tram networks incorporating state-of-the-art low-floor vehicles and sophisticated priority signaling.

Get more insights: Tram systems