Debate: Why Did Trams Die in the 20th Century?

A Toronto professor pushes against Christian Wolmar's assertion that the tram's demise can be connected to anti-worker policy. For one thing, trams never went away in some cities.

2 minute read

July 1, 2016, 10:00 AM PDT

By Philip Rojc @PhilipRojc


Yarra Trams Melbourne

Neal Jennings / Flickr

The history behind the gutting of public transit during the 20th century has been hotly debated. In a recent piece for The Guardian, Christian Wolmar argues that class snobbery contributed to anti-transit policy, with the middling classes preferring the more stately private automobile. Thomas R. Klassen doesn't entirely agree. "[Wolmar] argues that trams were eliminated 'because they catered for the working classes.' But surely that is too simplistic."

Klassen notes that cars quickly became working class transport. "As important in explaining public transit policies is that employment and residence patterns altered dramatically after the second world war. Moreover car ownership – for a while – became the nearly realised dream of many working-class households. In the 1950s and 60s it really did seem that public transportation, with the exceptions of subways and inter-city trains, largely would fade away."

In places like Toronto and Melbourne, trams survived the trend away from transit. "Toronto's trams have survived and prospered for two reasons. The first is that public-transit policymaking in Toronto was, and continues to be, so muddled and slow that politicians never got around to eliminating streetcars." The other, Klassen suggests, is simple good branding.

It's also important to remember that in places with a rising middle class, notably China, people prize both transit and car ownership. Driving has more cachet, but we have yet to see any of North America's historical transit-phobia. 

Tuesday, June 7, 2016 in The Guardian

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 2, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

White and purple sign for Slow Street in San Francisco, California with people crossing crosswalk.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths

Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

July 1, 2025 - KQED

Google street view image of strip mall in suburban Duncanville, Texas.

Adaptive Reuse Will Create Housing in a Suburban Texas Strip Mall

A developer is reimagining a strip mall property as a mixed-use complex with housing and retail.

5 hours ago - Parking Reform Network

Blue tarps covering tents set up by unhoused people along chain link fence on concrete sidewalk.

Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work

Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.

7 hours ago - Next City

Aerial tram moving along cable in hilly area in Medellin, Colombia.

In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle

Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.

July 6 - InTransition Magazine