| Comment | Legitimately, it's because the volume of car induced traffic by the 1960s made trams and then trolleybuses unreliable and this financially unviable to run.
Trams were replaced by trolleybuses because they were seen as having more flexibility and ability to navigate through increasing traffic. But after a few years even trolleybuses struggled to justify their cost, and were replaced by buses at a time of immensely cheap diesel.
This happened in cities across the world by the way, not just Glasgow. UK cities were particularly badly impacted though, as in many ways we embraced US style planning in a much more robust way than other European countries post-war.
Many cities like Edinburgh are now reintroducing trams, but it's no coincidence its aligning with measures to reduce the presence of cars on streets. Street running of trams requires either complete grade separation (which isn't always possible) or traffic calming, particularly with regard to junctions, to make it viable.
Glasgow is planning to introduce trams as part of the Clyde Metro network proposals over the coming decade or so. |
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