Trolleybuses in Singapore

Singapore trolleybus system
A Singapore trolleybus, ca. 1930.
Operation
Locale Singapore
Open 14 August 1926 (1926-08-14)
Close 15 December 1962 (1962-12-15)
Status Closed
Operator(s) Singapore Traction Company
Infrastructure
Electrification 540V DC[1]

The Singapore trolleybus system formed part of the transportation network of Singapore from 1926 to 1962. The system was first planned as a replacement for the Singapore tramway network, and was initially constructed between 1926 and 1927, with the conversion of tram routes into trolleybus ones. The network eventually became one of the world's biggest in the 1930s, with a total network length of 24.96 mi (40.17 km) by 1933.

After World War II, the trolleybuses were found to be inadequately suited to serve Singapore's transportation needs, and were also seen as obsolete. Thus, the trolleybuses were fully replaced by motor buses by the end of 1962.

History

Background

By the early 1920s, as a result of a lack of funds, the tram system in Singapore was in a very poor state. As a result, negotiations were made in 1922 with the Shanghai Electric Construction Company, and the management of the tram operating company was changed that year. By this time, as a result of the tram track being in a very poor state as well as the cost of its rehabilitation, as well as the success of trolleybuses in Shanghai, the Shanghai Electric Construction Company made plans to replace the tram network with a trolleybus one, as well as the reorganisation of the tram operating company.[2]

In March 1925, the Singapore Traction Ordinance was passed by the Legislative Council. This included the conversion of the tram system to trolleybuses, and the reorganisation of the tram operating company into the Singapore Traction Company (STC), which was to operate the trolleybuses.[3] The STC was formed in October that year, and it took over the assets of the old tram operating company.[4]

Conversion from trams

After its formation, the STC commenced the transition to trolleybuses from trams. In 1926, a fleet of trolleybuses was shipped to Singapore, with the first ten becoming ready for service in April that year.[5] Trolleybus service began on 14 August that year on two routes, between Joo Chiat Road and Tanjong Pagar and between Upper Cross Street and Outram Road, with service provided by a fleet of 30 trolleybuses. To inaugurate the service, a special illuminated trolleybus ran between Bras Basah, Geylang and the Singapore General Hospital that evening.[6][7]

The trolleybuses became very popular with the public following their introduction, and as a result, the ridership of the buses was much higher than that of the trams they replaced. As a result, the fare revenue of the STC in the last quarter of the year increased by 22% between 1925 and 1926.[8] The conversion of tram routes to trolleybus ones continued into 1927, with the route between Tank Road and Keppel Harbour completing its conversion in March that year.[9] Other routes were similarly converted and the conversion to trolleybuses was completed six months later, with the conversion of the route between Selegie Road and Bras Basah Road.[10]

The 1920s, 30s and the Japanese Occupation

Soon after their introduction, problems arose over the trolleybuses. Several fatalities occurred as a result of people either alighting or falling from moving trolleybuses, and consequently, the request was made for a fitting that could allow the conductor of a trolleybus to control passenger flow at the exits of the buses.[11] The request was made multiple times as more deaths occurred, and as a result, the STC decided to install a central rod at the second-class entrance of each trolleybus in November 1927.[12] However, the result of a coroner's enquiry into one of the fatalities that same month stated that the rods would not reduce the number of fatalities, and to do so, passengers had to be obliged to not alight until the bus had stopped. [13] Hence, in 1928, with the death of a Chinese teenager after he fell from a trolleybus, the STC installed inward-opening doors at third-class exits on all its trolleybuses.[14]

By October 1931, the trolleybus network had had almost 40 million riders, and by 1933, it was claimed to be the largest trolleybus system in the world, with a total route length of 24.96 mi (40.17 km) served by a fleet of 108 buses.[15] In August 1939, new regulations for trolleybuses were implemented. These regulations limited the trolleybuses to a top speed of 25 miles per hour, prohibited the placing of advertising on the exterior of the trolleybuses and mandated that the trolleybuses had to be conveniently and brightly lit. [16]

After the fall of Singapore to the Japanese in February 1942, operation of the network was taken over by the local administration, and trolleybus services were more or less as per normal by May that year.[17] First class on the trolleybuses was abolished in 1943 with the introduction of new single-class trolleybuses, and as a result, the fares were restructured according to the prior second-class fare rates.[18]

Postwar and demise

After the return of Singapore to British rule, the STC found that of their 108-strong prewar trolleybus fleet, only 20 trolleybuses of varying roadworthiness remained.[19] Trolleybus service was reinstated in September 1945, with the passenger capacity on each bus limited to 45.[20] Due to the insufficient number of trolleybuses available, some of the routes previously served by trolleybuses were served by omnibuses until sufficient trolleybuses were delivered.[21]

In the years after the war, the transport system provided by the trolley and omnibuses proved to be inadequate. Furthermore, the trolleybuses were also noted in a memorandum by the Singapore City Council's Vehicles and Traffic Committee as "slow, noisy and unattractive".[22] Moreover, the trolley wires also prevented the introduction of double-decker buses on Singapore streets. Thus, the STC embarked on a programme to replace the trolleybuses with brand-new Isuzu buses built in Japan.[23] The last trolleybuses, operating on Service No. 4 from Paya Lebar to Outram Road, ceased operations at midnight on 16 December 1962.[23]

Fleet

The initial set of trolleybuses acquired at the commencement of the system in 1926 consisted of chassis constructed by the Associated Equipment Company in England and bodies constructed in Shanghai. The buses were then shipped to Singapore in kit form and were assembled by workmen at the Tanjong Pagar docks in Singapore.[5]

In 1943, the Syonan-si Siden introduced a new type of trolleybus. This trolleybus did away with the two-class layout in previous types used on the network, and had a lower floor then previous types.[24]

After the war, as part of its rehabilitation programme, the STC ordered 50 new trolleybuses, fitted with brand-new electrical equipment as well as pneumatic tyres, and were to have their bodies constructed in Singapore.[21] As a result of these buses being put into service, the old trolleybuses that dated from the beginning of the network were able to be scrapped.[25]

See also

References

Citations

  1. ↑ "Modern Singapore—The City Of Opportunity. IX.- How Singapore Goes to Work". Malaya Tribune. Singapore. 7 April 1933. Retrieved 7 June 2018 – via NewspaperSG.
  2. ↑ "Singapore Tramways". The Straits Times. Singapore. 23 June 1923. Retrieved 19 May 2018 – via NewspaperSG.
  3. ↑ "Singapore Traction Co". The Straits Times. Singapore. 7 March 1925. Retrieved 19 May 2018 – via NewspaperSG.
  4. ↑ "Singapore Traction Co". The Singapore Free Press. Singapore. 9 November 1925. Retrieved 19 May 2018 – via NewspaperSG.
  5. 1 2 "Rail-Less Cars". The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (Weekly). Singapore. 14 April 1926. Retrieved 19 May 2018 – via NewspaperSG.
  6. ↑ "Trolley Buses". The Straits Times. Singapore. 13 August 1926. Retrieved 20 May 2018 – via NewspaperSG.
  7. ↑ "New Tram Service". Malaya Tribune. Singapore. 13 August 1926. Retrieved 20 May 2018 – via NewspaperSG.
  8. ↑ "Popularity of Railess Cars". The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (Weekly). Singapore. 26 January 1927. Retrieved 20 May 2018 – via NewspaperSG.
  9. ↑ "Trolley Bus Service". The Straits Times. Singapore. 11 March 1927. Retrieved 20 May 2018 – via NewspaperSG.
  10. ↑ "Last of the Trams". The Straits Times. Singapore. 1 September 1927. Retrieved 20 May 2018 – via NewspaperSG.
  11. ↑ "Trolley Bus Fatalities". The Straits Times. Singapore. 2 August 1927. Retrieved 28 May 2018 – via NewspaperSG.
  12. ↑ "Trolley Buses". The Straits Times. Singapore. 22 November 1927. Retrieved 28 May 2018 – via NewspaperSG.
  13. ↑ "Trolley-Bus Fatalities". Malaya Tribune. Singapore. 22 November 1927. Retrieved 28 May 2018 – via NewspaperSG.
  14. ↑ "Doors for Trolleybuses". The Straits Times. Singapore. 3 March 1928. Retrieved 28 May 2018 – via NewspaperSG.
  15. ↑ "Modern Singapore—The City Of Opportunity. IX.-How Singapore Goes to Work". Malaya Tribune. Singapore. 7 April 1933. Retrieved 1 June 2018 – via NewspaperSG.
  16. ↑ "New Rules for Singapore Trolley Buses". The Straits Times. Singapore. 13 August 1939. Retrieved 1 June 2018 – via NewspaperSG.
  17. ↑ "Good Work Of Public Transport Services". Syonan Shimbun. Singapore. 2 May 1942. Retrieved 1 June 2018 – via NewspaperSG.
  18. ↑ "One Class Street Cars Means Cheaper Transport". Syonan Shimbun. Singapore. 5 March 1943. Retrieved 1 June 2018 – via NewspaperSG.
  19. ↑ "First Pneumatic-Tyre Trolley Bus Arrrk=Morning Tribune". Singapore. 22 January 1948 – via NewspaperSG.
  20. ↑ "Trolley-Buses Back". The Straits Times. Singapore. 17 September 1945. Retrieved 5 June 2018 – via NewspaperSG.
  21. 1 2 "Singapore to Have 60 New Buses". The Straits Times. Singapore. 4 June 1946. Retrieved 5 June 2018 – via NewspaperSG.
  22. ↑ "Double-Deck Bus Plan". The Straits Times. Singapore. 18 May 1953. Retrieved 7 June 2018 – via NewspaperSG.
  23. 1 2 "Off for good: Spore trolley buses". The Straits Times. Singapore. 16 December 1962. Retrieved 7 June 2018 – via NewspaperSG.
  24. ↑ "New Trolley Bus Appears On Syonan Streets". Syonan Shimbun. Singapore. 25 February 1943. Retrieved 1 June 2018 – via NewspaperSG.
  25. ↑ "New Buses for Old". The Straits Times. Singapore. 31 August 1948. Retrieved 5 June 2018 – via NewspaperSG.

Further reading

  • Trolleybus Magazine Nos. 207, 210, 212, 214-216, National Trolleybus Association (UK). ISSN 0266-7452.
  • York, F W; Phillips, A R (1996). Singapore: A History of its Trams, Trolleybuses & Buses, Volume One 1880's to 1960's. Croydon, Surrey, UK: DTS Publishing. ISBN 978-1-900515-00-9.

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