Its Streetcar Nixed, Fort Worth Still Awaits a Better Bus

A common critique of new urban streetcar projects is that buses can offer comparable service at a far lower cost. That refrain became a familiar one in the debates that led Fort Worth, Texas, to cancel plans for a downtown streetcar in 2010—a surprise move that came after the city had secured $25 million in federal funding. As one opponent said at the time: “If we want to improve mass transit options, then we should invest in a better bus system, which can be done cheaper.”

There’s a strong case that buses provide better mobility than streetcars, especially when the trolleys don’t get a dedicated travel lane. But what streetcar advocates rightly fear is that opponents will use that case disingenuously—as a masquerade for some underlying anti-rail or anti-transit agenda. It’s a concern that becomes more and more reasonable as the years go by and the fiery calls for a “better bus system” give way to the same old subpar service.