>>1815171>They do that while saving on startup costs for their infrastructureThe comparison is m00t because you can't offer the same service with a bus. If you build a BRT, which still doesn't have the same capacity as LRT, it's almost as expensive, so the LRT will soon have saved the extra money that its construction cost.
If you set up a normal bus line you get neither the capacity nor the speed of a tram (or BRT), so what's even the comparison, less cost per passenger-mile at much lower level of service? By that logic don't build subways just build a bus, subways are the most expensive per passenger-mile, even more so than trams.
