There aren't any old hippies around - unless you count poseurs.

DMU's are for those too tight to hang wire or prissy architects who call OC visual pollution but who love highrises, true blight in the sky. Doodlebugs are the last gasp before abandonment of passenger service.

There will be a real conflict when SMART runs out of cash and tries to purloin bus subsidy monies. The buses serve more riders; reach more areas; and serve a poorer, more needy ridership.

So long as you have freight you cannot build any ramps nor flyovers. And doodlebuggies cannot handle the gradients like streetcars. I use the latter term because "light rail" has become so misused soon they will be calling "BART Technology"(the terminology the Evil Empire favors)light rail. Or Amtrak.