Even if you think what you would say is obvious, please add. This is genuinely something I think makes sense regarding local bus routes given the longevity of light rail and how infrequently routes change, but I also suffer from confirmation bias, so I’m hoping for reasons this would be a terrible idea but obviously would prefer reasons it would be an even more amazing idea than I thought.
With the caveat that this only applies to my city, San Francisco… I prefer buses. SF horribly mismanages its “trams”* where they run at ground level through the streets. They must follow all stop signs and traffic rules. They don’t even get signal priority. So it’s a quite jarring experience to get into a train underground, exit the tunnel to the street, and begin stopping every block and waiting at red lights.
Fact of the matter is that, if you’re going to be treated like a car, it’s better to be more maneuverable as a bus. Buses can avoid double parked cars, and have a fighting chance of squeezing through a gridlocked intersection. With a bus lane, they can use it but they don’t have to, where’s trams are trapped in a traffic lane (frequently the centermost lane) while idiots make (frequently illegal) left turns.
* Muni light rail - K, J, L, M, N, T, F
While this is a point about implementation/regulation, and not about trams in general, it is an important point to make.
In my city of Hamburg, Germany, Iearned to avoid buses. Too often they get slowed down by traffic jams, which makes them late and unreliable.
Dedicated bus lanes, separated from cars, would solve the problem. Until they don’t have that, the U-Bahn and S-Bahn (which run on rails separated from traffic, underground or above street level) are my clear favorites.
A city which prioritizes public transit, would/could give street level trams priority at traffic lights, and maybe even disallow cars from using the tracks as a normal lane.