Public Transportation and Smart Growth

The building in the background is the police-station of Karlsruhe, Germany. The tram is just crossing a street and entering the southern end of the pedestrian-zone "Marktplatz" (denoted by the change of color of the roadstones) at the very heart of the city.

And the denoted destination "Bad Herrenalb"? That's a town 20 miles away.

From the railway-station of a village to the middle of the city in less than an hour, without changing trains, without driving, without looking for parking-space. (Very popular with teenagers on weekends.)
Is that a suitcase, a wheel-chair, a bike, a baby-carriage? Just take it with you, there's plenty of storage-room.

To be exact, there are a long-range and a short-range version of the trams in Karlsruhe: The short-range version only cycles within the city. The long-range version connects towns and villages up to 30 miles apart.