No, they're not. They might be better if they're electric (but we have those here in the US too in some places, like NYC), but they'll never be efficient. The only efficient system is an automated personal rapid transit system which can move people between arbitrary points without any stops in between. Only something like SkyTran can do that. As long as you have to stop and pick up other riders in-between, or have to stop for traffic lights, you'll never get an efficient trip.