A
rubber-tyred metro is a form of
rapid transit system that uses a mix of
road and
rail technology. The vehicles have
wheels with
rubber tyres which run on rolling pads inside
guide bars for traction, as well as traditional railway steel wheels with deep
flanges on
steel tracks for guidance through
conventional switches as well as guidance in case a tyre fails. Most rubber-tyred trains are purpose-built and designed for the system on which they operate.
Guided buses are sometimes referred to as '
trams on tyres', and compared to rubber-tyred metros.