Route Awakening

Late 1920s

BEFORE the MRT became our primary mode of public transportation, there was a humbler player in town - the trolley bus. The late 1920s saw this newcomer take prime position over electric trams and led to a successful run of more than 30 years. Run mainly by the Singapore Traction Company, the first major public motor transport company in Singapore, the trolley buses were powered by overhead electric cables, but were not restricted to fixed tracks. After the Japanese Occupation, the STC was left with only 29 serviceable trolley buses. It also had to deal with competition from unregulated Chinese bus companies, referred to as ''mosquito buses'', and worker strikes, the most famous of which happened in 1956 and lasted 146 days. The trolley bus eventually lost favour and was taken over by the more convenient bus in 1962.