Singapore Traction Company

With only 20 operational trolleybuses at the end of World War II, a programme to restore full service by purchasing new buses was begun during the late 1940s.

By the late 1960s, the STC's financial state had worsened; with the April 1971 repeal of the Traction Ordinance, its losses mounted.

Due to the poor state of the tram infrastructure, rehabilitation was deemed too costly and plans were made to convert the system to trolleybuses.

[10] By 1933, the company operated what was claimed to be the largest trolleybus network in the world: 24.96 mi (40.17 km) long, served by 108 vehicles.

[11] That year, negotiations began on articles and amendments to the management agreement to release the STC from Shanghai Electric Company control.

[19] In September and October 1936, STC bus drivers and conductors struck twice over split shifts and harsh working conditions.

[23] Only 20 trolleybuses were found fit for service when Singapore returned to British rule, and operations were limited until new buses could be delivered.

[26] Concerns about overcrowding on STC buses were also raised frequently in the media and by the Municipal Commission, and fines for breaches of regulation were increased in 1950.

[35] After Chief Minister David Marshall warned that the STC might have its franchise cancelled, the company backed down[36] and bus service resumed on the afternoon of 16 February 1956.

[41] The government's seizure of 1,000 pirate taxis and the resulting reduction of operating losses in 1967 averted the STC's financial collapse.

[43] In April 1971, with the adoption of the Wilson Report by the government, the Traction Ordinance was repealed and the STC had to compete on an equal footing with Singapore's other bus companies.

[2] The initial fleet of trolleybuses acquired in 1926 consisted of chassis built by the Associated Equipment Company in England and bodies constructed in Shanghai, with assembly in Singapore.

[52] After World War II, nearly all the company's buses were unusable as a result of deferred maintenance and the use of poor-quality lubricants during the Japanese occupation.

[54] By 1949, all but 10 of the STC's buses were modern vehicles ordered after the war; the total carrying capacity was higher than the pre-war level by 1950.