Municipal Tramways Trust
 First Electric tram trial in November 1908 | |
| Government Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | December 1906 |
| Dissolved | December 1975 |
| Superseding agency | |
| Jurisdiction | Adelaide |
| Headquarters | Adelaide |
The Municipal Tramways Trust (MTT) was established in December 1906 to operate the street tram network in Adelaide, Australia. The MTT ceased to exist on 8 December 1975, when its functions were transferred to the State Transport Authority Bus & Tram Division.
History
The MTT was created in December 1906 as a tax exempt body with eight members, mostly appointed by local councils and a small number of state government appointees.[1] It purchased all of the horse-drawn tramways in Adelaide.[2] It established a nine-acre (3.6 hectare) tram depot site near the corner of Hackney and Botanic Roads Adelaide, this included a depot building, 24 incoming tracks and a large administration office.[3] William Goodman, was appointed as its first engineer, and much of the engineering work in following years was contracted to Noyes Bros., with whom Goodman had been closely associated in New Zealand.
The MTT opened its first electric tramway in March 1909 and Port Adelaide in 1917. The Adelaide-Glenelg railway was taken over by the MTT and in 1929 was converted into an electric tramway. The MTT throughout this period introduced a variety of bus services. In 1938, the Port Adelaide tram service was replaced by double-decker trolleybuses. Goodman served the MTT for 42 years and was knighted in 1932, eventually retiring as general manager in 1950.[4][5]
From 1952, the tramways were gradually replaced by diesel bus services. By 1958, Adelaide's Glenelg Tram was the last remaining service. The MTT continued to operate most of the local bus routes in the inner metropolitan area, often following former tram lines. By the 1970s the MTT had bought out many of the private bus operators then operating in the Adelaide suburbs.
On 8 December 1975, the services of the MTT became the Bus & Tram division of the State Transport Authority.
Inaugural MTT board members
When appointed in 1907 the MTT board consisted of:[6]
- AB Moncrieff, Government appointee, chairman and engineer-in-chief; succeeded in 1922 by Edward Bakewell
- Thomas Gill, Government appointee
- JR Baker, Alderman of the Adelaide corporation
- Theodore Bruce, Mayor of Adelaide
- R Cruickshank, Mayor of the Corporate Town of St Peters
- H. J. Holden, Mayor of the Corporate Town of Kensington and Norwood
- JT Mellor, Mayor of the District Council of Walkerville
- AC Sanders, Mayor of the District Council of Prospect
The board members were appointed for terms of six years with a provision that half the members should retire every three years.
Tram depots
The MTT operated depots in Angas Street, Hackney, Maylands, Prospect and Port Adelaide.
Most of the Tram types in Adelaide were introduced and operated by the Municipal Tramways Trust. The H class Adelaide tram continued in use by its successor organisations on the Glenelg tram line into the 2000s when it was eventually supplemented and replaced by newer types.
Buses
Following the cessation of most tram operations in the 1950s, the MTT had become primarily a bus operator. At the time of its cessation in December 1975, it operated a fleet of AEC Regal VIs, Leyland Royal Tiger Worldmasters and AEC Swifts.
In 1928, the MTT was given the responsibility for the licensing of private bus operators in Adelaide. By the beginning of the 1970s, the viability of many of Adelaide's private operators had deteriorated as revenues dropped. On 1 February 1974, the government rejected a request for either increased fares or an increase in subsidies from the private operators and announced its intention to phase out all private operation of bus services by 1979 as the licences came up for renewal.[2]
However the private operators argued they were not prepared to operate the services if they became unprofitable, so it was agreed that the MTT would take the services over immediately.
On 24 February 1974, the MTT took over the services of 12 operators: Bowman's Bus Services, Bridgland Passenger Transport Service, Campbell's Bus Service, Choat Passenger Service, Cole Bus Services, Ex-Serviceman's Omnibus Services, Harcourt Gardens Bus Service, Henstridge Bus Service, Morphett's Tours, Slattery's Bus Service, Thomas Tours and Transway Services. The services of the few remaining operators services were acquired over the next 15 months.[2]
The MTT took over the buses of the private operators, and as such operated a motley collection of buses until replaced by Volvo B59s in the late 1970s.
References
- ↑ The Critic (1909), pp.15,17-18
- 1 2 3 McNichol, Steve (August 1982). Bus & Coach Pictorial: SA. Elizabeth: Railmac Publications. p. 2. ISBN 0 949817 15 5.
- ↑ The Critic (1909), p.27
- ↑ McCarthy, GJ (22 June 2005). "Goodman, William George Toop (1872 - 1961)". Bright Sparcs.
- ↑ History Adelaide's Tramways
- ↑ The Critic (1909), pp.2,3,15,17,18
- The Critic (1909). The Tramways of Adelaide, past, present, and future : a complete illustrated and historical souvenir of the Adelaide tramways from the inception of the horse trams to the inauguration of the present magnificent electric trolley car system. Adelaide: The Critic.