Once in Santa Monica, buses would switch over to Colorado and ultimately join the downtown transit mall now under construction. Trams, however, would continue down Olympic, and then a bridge would fly them over the freeway, to land in a station in the Civic Center. The MTA also must decide whether to take the system underground near USC and Exposition Park. While a tunnel would cost more money, it would allow the system to be used effectively on some of the busiest days of the year, such as the L.A. Marathon, when the streets in the area are closed. The LRT system is superior.
Electric trams provide aesthetic benefits and comforts that buses lack.
Light rail will also carry more riders. The Long Beach line now carries 60,000 passengers daily, so many that the MTA is enlarging station platforms to accommodate longer trains. I doubt that a BRT operating along the same route would have been so successful. For Santa Monica, the LRT also provides a great opportunity to bring to the Civic Center a use, the line's western terminus, that will serve the Pier and the existing mix of residences, hotels, and offices as well as the parks and housing now being planned. The station will help balance a downtown that is now heavily weighted toward the Promenade.