Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation

History

Establishment

Tokyo City purchased the Tokyo Railway Company, a streetcar operator, in 1911, and placed its lines under the authority of the Tokyo Municipal Electric Bureau. The TMEB began bus service in 1924 as an emergency measure after the Great Kantō earthquake knocked out streetcar service in the city. (The TMEB was also responsible for providing electric power to Tokyo, but this service was privatized in 1942 as Tokyo Electric).

In 1942, the Japanese government forced a number of private transit businesses in Tokyo to merge into the TMEB. These included the bus lines of the Tokyo Underground Railway (whose Ginza Line remained independent), the Keio Electric Railway and the Tokyu Corporation, as well as the Oji Electric Tramway (operator of the Arakawa Line) and several smaller bus companies.

In 1943, Tokyo City was abolished and the TMEB's operations were transferred to the new TMBT.

Toei Subway

Main article: Toei Subway

Tokyo Sakura Tram

Main article: Toden Arakawa Line

Tokyo Sakura Tram (the public name of the Toden Arakawa Line, the sole remaining line of Tokyo's once-extensive streetcar system) is a 30-station hybrid light rail/tram line.

Nippori-Toneri Liner

Main article: Nippori-Toneri Liner

Nippori-Toneri Liner is a 13-station, 9.7 km long automated guideway transit system which commenced operation on March 30, 2008.

Ueno Zoo Monorail (Closed)

Main article: Ueno Zoo Monorail

Ueno Zoo Monorail was a 300 m long suspended monorail inside the grounds of Ueno Zoo which commenced operation on December 17, 1957. Operation was suspended on October 31, 2019, and never recommenced with the line being officially closed on December 27, 2023.

Bus lines

Main article: Toei Bus

Toei operates local bus service in central Tokyo, generally to fill in the gaps unserved by the Tokyo Metro and Toei Subway networks.

Most routes are designated by a kanji character followed by a two-digit route number. The initial character usually indicates the main railway station where the line terminates: for instance, 渋66 (Shibu 66) is a suburban route from Shibuya Station. Some routes replace the initial character with Latin letters, one prominent example being the RH01 service between Roppongi Hills and Shibuya. Others use a special character derived from the route, such as 虹01 (Niji [Rainbow] 01) which crosses the Rainbow Bridge. Some cross-town routes begin with the character 都 (to "metropolitan").

As of March 2024, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government had added 73 fuel cell buses to its bus fleet operated by the Bureau of Transportation.

Other services

Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation also maintains a large fiber-optic cable network in the city, as well as several electric power generators.

Trolley buses

TMBT operated electric trolley buses between 1952 and 1968 on four routes:

• Route 101: Imai - Kameido - Oshiage - Asakusa - Ueno
• Route 102: Ikebukuro - Shibuya - Naka-meguro - Gotanda - Shinagawa
• Route 103: Ikebukuro - Oji - San'ya - Kameido
• Route 104: Ikebukuro - Oji - Asakusa

The trolley buses were short-lived, however, mostly owing to their vulnerability to weather: rain caused problems with the overhead power supply, and snow required tire chains to be installed on vehicles in order to maintain traction.

Notes

References

References

1. Inoue, Osamu. (March 29, 2024). "Tokyo leads the way to carbon neutrality". [[The Japan Times]].