It is unfortunate Tony Mernagh is so negative about trams for Brighton (Letters, November 17), though the proposed seafront route is not the place for anything more than a leisure facility - perhaps extensions of the Volks railway.

The point of a tram is that it stops right outside the shops - who would want to wait for a tram on the seafront on a wet and windy winter evening?

If there is a place for trams in the city, it is as a replacement for buses on the main bus corridors, where the buses themselves have become a cause of congestion and the number of buses is well above the minimum required for a viable tram route.

The financial problems with Croydon's trams do not discredit the basic concept. Apparently, they are due largely to the number of passengers travelling without paying, either because they have some kind of travelcard or they are stealing a free ride.

These financial difficulties can be resolved, while the environmental gains have been thoroughly worthwhile and Tramlink has boosted land values all along the routes.

-Henry Law, Brighton