A tale of two "trams"
Now I've made digs at Perth's "trams" before, but I think it's time to document this weirdness.
Above is some weird art thing I discovered in South Perth, which is actually the closest we come to a real tram here in Perth. Sure it's distinctly two-dimensional, the people riding it are made of metal and it is firmly bolted to a big slab of concrete so it's not exactly transport as such, but it's still the nearest we come to Melbourne's seriously cool trams.
And I can't talk about trams and Perth without mentioning our buses in drag (aka the 'Official Perth Trams' -- refer to Exhibit A, shown right). These babies are so far removed from an actual tram that it's really quite funny. I mean, it's got normal tyres!
I may be wrong in presuming this, but I think a tram really should have at least two of these things:
- Tracks
- Big scary metal wheels (and no rubber tyres)
- A funky bell and a seriously angry-at-the-world driver ringing it like there's no tomorrow
Photo: Trams of Perth: Note that it's quite permanently secured to the ground. It's good that the 2D people from the Smiths ads have their own dedicated transport system now though.
Posted on Friday, October 8, 2004 and filed under .
