Rubber-tyred tram

A rubber-tyred tram (also known as tramway on tyres, French: tramway sur pneumatiques) is a development of the guided bus in which a vehicle is guided by a fixed rail in the road surface and draws current from overhead electric wires (either via pantograph or trolley poles).

In the case of Translohr, this rail is grasped by a pair of metal guide wheels set at 45° to the road and at 90° to each other.

In both cases, the weight of the vehicle is borne by rubber tires to which the guide wheels are attached, which make contact with the road on concrete roll ways designed to minimise impact on the ground.

On the other hand, Translohr vehicles operate like standard trams and cannot move without guidance, so they are not classified as buses and are not equipped with number plates.

These systems have been likened to the tram equivalent of rubber-tyred metros, and they are also less efficient than steel-wheeled light rail vehicles.