ABSTRACT
Many books and reports dealing with public transport start from the perspective of the operator, or even the enthusiast, rather than the passenger. The tell-tale sign is an emphasis on technology – preferably advanced and exciting – and infrastructure, with the task of combining the different bits of technology and infrastructure in ways that serve people’s travel needs either ignored or treated as uncomplicated. Typically, texts of this kind will begin by extolling the virtues of metros, busways, smart cards or light rail, depending on the preference of the writer, discuss different public transport modes and technologies separately, and conclude by demanding increased investment in the preferred solution. Inconvenient truths, such as the fact that the large increase in tram patronage in the City of Zurich during the 1980s (see Chapter 8) occurred on a fleet of vehicles dating mainly from the 1950s and 1960s, are glossed over or ignored entirely.
