Elegant form of transport on the rise (5)
I believe the answer is:
smart
'elegant' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'transport on the rise' is the wordplay.
'transport' becomes 'trams' (trams are a type of public transport).
'on the rise' says the letters should be written in reverse (in a down clue, letters go up).
'trams' backwards is 'SMART'.
'form of' is the link.
This may not be right. Some or all of it may belong to another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for smart that I've seen before include "Well turned out" , "Alick" , "it hurts!" , "Quick; tidy; sting" , "Neat - clever" .)