Tom Anderson wrote:

: - Buses haven't really been given a chance; they never get the same level
: of infrastructure (stations, off-road routes, vehicle quality, driver
: training, control systems, etc) as trams, and so we can't yet make a
: fair comparison

Well, they have - in some places in the Netherlands. For example, the
city bus services of Almere run almost completely on reserved roads
(which are closed to all traffic except buses, emergency vehicles
and AFAIR taxis). Yes, I mean bus roads, not just bus lanes. :-)

Another example is the new "Zuidtangent" route connecting Haarlem and
the southern and southeastern suburbs of Amsterdam, which also runs
partly on reserved roads and has some rather impressive stations.

.... Martin