Singapore Traction Company

The Singapore Traction Company (STC) was a tram, motorbus and trolleybus operator from 1925 to 1971. The STC was established as a result of the Traction Ordinance in 1925, initially owned by the Shanghai Electric Company and took over the Singapore's tram network, converting to trolleybus in 1927. The STC, which had acquired first omnibuses in 1929, took over mosquito buses in 1933 and became independent in 1935. After World War II, STC which had only 20 operational trolleybuses, pledged to restore the full service in the 1940s. The company faced 15-week strike in 1947 and 142-day strike over wages between 1955 and 1956. Trolleybus service ceased in December 1962 and the company headquarters moved to Singapore from London in 1964. By the late 1960s, the STC financial state worsened, and with the repeal of Traction Ordinance in April 1971, the losses mounted. The STC sold their bus operations to three companies in April 1971, and ceased operations in December 1971.

Background
In the early 1920s, the Shanghai Electric Company (SEC), which operated a trolleybus network in Shanghai, was approached to rehabilitate the Singapore tramway network. Due to the poor state of the tram infrastructure, rehabilitation was deemed too costly and thus plans were made for the system's conversion to trolleybuses.

Hence, the SEC began negotiations with Singapore's municipal government over a new traction ordinance. This ordinance included the conversion of the tram system to trolleybuses, and the restructuring of the old tramway operating company into a new one.

Establishment and conversion of the tram system
In 1925, the STC was established pursuant to the Singapore Traction (Transfer) Ordinance passed by the Legislative Council in March 1925 with a remit to take over Singapore's tram network from Singapore Electric Traction and replace it with trolleybuses. The first two trolleybus routes commenced operations on 14 August 1926, and the last tram line was converted on 4 September 1927.

In 1929, the STC gained approval for operating motor buses along its existing trolleybus routes, and operated a route between Geylang and Finalyson Green with seven buses as an experiment. These buses were introduced to reduce travel times, and were noted by a reporter of The Straits Times as having a smooth, comfortable ride. The motor bus service was then expanded with the introduction of a route to Seletar from July that year.

With the onset of the Great Depression, the STC's revenue declined in the early 1930s, with fare revenue decreasing by £20000 from 1931 to 1932. This was due to the continuation of services at the same rate as before in spite of reduced demand. By 1933, the STC operated what was claimed to be the largest trolleybus network in the world, which was 24.96 mi long, served by a fleet of 108 trolleybuses. In the same year, negotiations began on articles and amendments to the management agreement to allow for the release of the company from the Shanghai Electric Construction Company's control, as it was deemed unnecessary for the STC at that point in time.

Takeover of mosquito buses
In 1933, with the failure of Southern Omnibus Services, the municipal government decided to transfer all mosquito bus services to the STC, with the replacement of these services with new routes and extensions of existing ones. However, with the replacement of the mosquito buses on the first few routes, commuters complained about overcrowding on the buses. Thus, the Municipal Commission recommended that the timetables of the routes be changed to ensure that the buses come at adequate intervals. In addition, the STC also added additional buses to its fleet and implemented express services on the Tampenis Road route, which was the route with the most issues.

In 1935, negotiations between the Shanghai Electric and Construction Company and the STC were concluded, and the STC made an offer to buy out the rights of the Shanghai company for £100,000, which the Shanghai company agreed to. However, the deal was delayed due to the Chancery Court granting an injunction to the Investment Trust Corporation and other STC shareholders, due to the STC not having the money required. Consequently, the STC made an appeal against the injunction on 1 May 1935, which was successful. The management agreement between both companies was terminated in October that year, along with the payment being made.

In September and October 1936, several STC bus drivers and conductors went on strike twice over their unhappiness over split shifts and harsh working conditions. Two years later, as a result of the failure of four months of negotiations with the company, the STC workers went on strike again. As the strikers were unwilling to negotiate with the company, the strike went on for 15 days, until the government stepped in to hold talks between the two parties. However, as the strikers were unwilling to accept the arbitration, the strike continued for almost a month before the terms were accepted and services resumed on 22 August.

The 1940s and 50s
With the return of Singapore to British rule, only 20 trolleybuses and no omnibuses were found to be fit for service, with all the others in a very poor state. Hence, operations were limited until new buses could be delivered. However, the restoration of full service was delayed by a 15-week strike by the STC workers in 1947, as a result of the STC being unwilling to accept the workers' demands over wages. Concerns over overcrowding in the STC buses were also raised frequently in the news media and in the Municipal Commission, and thus fines for breach of regulation were raised in 1950. Moreover, the STC introduced buses exclusively for schoolchildren in April 1950, in response to a request made six months prior.

In September 1955, as a result of the STC refusing to accept claims for wage increases of 60 to 70 percent, more than 2800 STC employees went on strike. Some of the workers attempted to run a free bus service, but were prevented from doing so. To resolve the issue, the chairman of the STC flew down to Singapore and talks between the workers and the STC management were held at the Labour Ministry, but no progress could be made. Negotiations started again in December 1955, but these reached a deadlock after a few days.

The government then set up a Court of Inquiry for the dispute, which recommended a wage increase for the workers. Initially, the workers accepted the recommendations but the management rejected it, claiming the company would be running at a loss. After the Chief Minister, Mr David Marshall, warned that the STC might have its franchise cancelled, the STC backed down from its prior decision and bus service resumed in the afternoon of 16 February 1956.

Demise
The STC discontinued trolleybus operations in December 1962. In January 1964, the company transferred its headquarters from London to Singapore, with the Singapore company being formed by a new board and the London-registered one going into voluntary liquidation. This was due to most of the shareholders of the company being in Malaysia, as well as more opportunities for expansion being possible in Singapore.

By 1966, as a result of competition from "pirate" taxis, which resulted in a loss of around 6 million passengers in 1965, the STC was operating at a loss of $1 million a year. Consequently, the company was unable to meet the wage claims of its workers or confidently commit to acquiring new buses, with the directors of the company even considering to voluntarily liquidate the company. It was only with the government's seizure of 1000 pirate taxis and the resulting reduction in operating losses in 1967 that the STC's financial collapse was averted. Nevertheless, the STC continued to make losses for the rest of the 1960s.

In April 1971, with the adoption of the Wilson Report by the government, the Traction Ordinance was repealed and the STC had to compete with the other bus companies on an equal footing. Consequently, the STC's losses worsened, losing up to $13,000 a day, leaving the company nearly bankrupt.

In November 1971, it was revealed that the United Bus Company had made a bid for the STC's bus operations, with negotiations between the companies under direction from the government. In December 1971, the STC concluded negotiations with the three other bus companies for the sale of its buses for about $2.7 million. In addition to the buses, the three companies hired 2,000 STC employees, including 1,700 drivers and conductors immediately employed for the operation of the former STC services. Several of the mechanical workers were hired by the Ministry of Defence, while others were registered at Labour Ministry employment exchanges in Havelock and Bendemeer Roads.

The company was then placed in the hands of a receiver by the Chung Kiaw Bank on 21 December 1971. The company's Upper Aljunied Road bus depot was purchased by the three Chinese bus companies in 1972 for about $2 million and its MacKenzie Road premises were taken over by the government. Over the next five years, efforts were made to salvage the company, but they were to no avail, and thus the company was wound up in 1978.

Fleet
In the late 1930s, as part of a fleet renewal programme, the STC began replacement of its 20-seater motor buses, which ran on petrol, with 30-seater buses that ran on heavy oil.

After World War II, almost all the buses were in an unserviceable state, as a result of deferred maintenance and the use of lubricants of poor quality during the Japanese Occupation. Hence, the STC ordered new omnibuses and trolleybuses from the United Kingdom, which came into service in 1946 and 1947 respectively. These buses consisted of chassis built in the United Kingdom with bodies assembled in Singapore. By 1949, all but 10 of the STC's buses were modern vehicles ordered after the war, and the total carrying capacity was higher than the pre-war level by 1950.

In 1954, as part of an expansion programme, the STC acquired 24 new eight-foot-wide omnibuses and Singapore's first 30-foot long buses. The 30-foot buses, which had lighter aluminium chassis, were ordered as part of a plan to move the STC fleet towards fewer, bigger buses. In March 1956, the STC began a programme to convert all its buses to have aluminium bodies, and ordered $2 million of buses from Britain, which were similarly fitted out with aluminium bodies.

In 1962, the STC replaced its fleet of trolleybuses with 35 Isuzu ones. These Japanese-built buses had automatic doors, telescopic shock absorbers and air-suspension. In 1967, the STC acquired 50 37-seater Nissan buses at a cost of $1.5 million to serve the Toa Payoh housing estate. In order to obtain the funds that were needed to acquire these buses, the STC mortgaged the properties at MacKenzie Road.