A tram system covering Hamilton could help put the city back on track to prosperity, elder statesman and former Premier Sir John Swan said yesterday.

Sir John said a city with expanded boundaries with more high rise apartment blocks on the outskirts, plus a tram network, would revitalise Hamilton as a place not only to work, but to live and cut down on congestion from cars and bikes.

“Hamilton would become a city that houses people, has activity and has a critical mass that contributes to the rest of the Island,” Sir John said.

The businessman and former politician said that hi-tech tram networks had been introduced by other cities and the electric-powered vehicles had cut down on traffic and reduced pollution.

He added more 10-12 storey apartment blocks ringing a city “two to three times” its current size would mean people would opt for tram transport rather than their own vehicles.

And Sir John said that GPS systems in the trams could be used to send alerts to users advising when a tram would arrive at a given stop.

“Because these people will work in the city, and they have trams that take them into the centre, they don’t have to worry about cars,” said Sir John.

“That would also reduce the need to build these massive parking garages in the city as well.”

And he said that park and ride facilities on the edge of a bigger Hamilton area would mean those travelling from elsewhere on the Island would not have to bring their vehicles all the way into the city either.

The trams plan is part of Sir John’s blueprint for reversing the decline in Bermuda’s fortunes, due to be published in The Royal Gazette on Monday.

“The logical thing to do, is to do what most cities around the world have done — as we develop the waterfront, we should increase the size of the city and have a suitable transport system in it,” he said.