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Type | Body corporate, independent of direct government control |
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Industry | Public transportation |
Predecessors | 11 private horse tram companies |
Founded | December 1906 |
Defunct | December 1975 |
Fate | Dissolved, 1975 |
Successors |
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Headquarters | , South Australia |
Area served | Metropolitan Adelaide |
Key people |
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The Municipal Tramways Trust (MTT) was established by the Government of South Australia in December 1906 to purchase all of the horse-drawn tramways in Adelaide, South Australia. The Trust subsequently also ran petrol and diesel buses and electric trolleybuses. It ceased to exist on 8 December 1975, when its functions were transferred to the State Transport Authority, which also operated Adelaide's suburban train services.
The MTT was created in December 1906 as a tax exempt body with eight board members, mostly appointed by local councils and a small number of state government appointees. [1] Board members were appointed for terms of six years with a provision that half the members should retire every three years. [2] [note 1]
The Trust set out by purchasing all of the horse-drawn tramways in Adelaide. [3] It established a nine-acre (3.6 hectare) tram depot and headquarters near the corner of Hackney and Botanic Roads. [4] [5]
Thirty-five-year old William Goodman, who had diverse engineering experience in private enterprise and government employment in the UK, New South Wales and New Zealand, was appointed in 1907 as the Trust's first engineer. The following year he was appointed Chief Engineer and general manager. He was knighted in 1932, retiring in 1950 after 42 years' service. [6] [7]
The MTT's modernisation of tram services started with its first electric tram in March 1909. It also took over the Adelaide to Glenelg railway in 1929, when the line was converted from a steam-hauled broad gauge (5 ft 3 ft in) railway to an electric tramway laid to standard gauge (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) in conformity with the rest of the tram network, which had been built in accordance with the General Tramways Act 1884 (SA).
The MTT throughout this period introduced a variety of bus services. In 1938, the Port Adelaide tram service was replaced by double-decker trolleybuses.
From 1952, street tram services were gradually replaced by diesel bus services. After 1958, the mainly off-street Glenelg tram line 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 role of the MTT was assumed by the Bus & Tram division of the State Transport Authority. In 1994 the State Transport Authority in turn was dissolved and government public transport services were transferred to TransAdelaide, a publicly owned corporation. A partial tendering of bus services followed. [8] The 2000 round of tenders saw the end of TransAdelaide's direct operation of bus services in its own right, and the Department of Transport, Energy & Infrastructure took control, applying the Adelaide Metro brand across all road passenger transport operators, appearing to the public as a unified network, with common livery, timetable designs and a city information centre. [9] [10]
Most types of Adelaide trams were introduced and operated by the Municipal Tramways Trust on a network that eventually became almost 100 kilometres (60 miles) long. All the street tram lines were disbanded in 1958, leaving only the 11 km Glenelg tram line, which mostly runs on its own reservation. The Trust and its successor entities continued to operate Type H trams on that line. From 2006, when new trams were purchased, the Type H trams were gradually phased out, except for two kept for special occasions. Many have been preserved; in South Australia four are held by the Tramway Museum, St Kilda, north of Adelaide.
The MTT operated depots in Angas Street, Hackney, Maylands, Prospect and Port Adelaide.
The MTT also had its headquarters at the Hackney Depot, next to a large tram barn with 24 incoming tracks, housing vehicles and workshops to service them. Part of the original tram barn, and the headquarters building – now used by the State Herbarium of South Australia – remain. [5]
In 1928, the MTT was given the responsibility for the licensing of private bus operators in Adelaide. Following the cessation of all but the Glenelg Tram in 1958, the MTT had become mainly a bus operator. By the beginning of the 1970s, as revenues dropped, the financial viability of many of Adelaide's private operators had deteriorated. On 1 February 1974, the government rejected a request from the private operators for either increased fares or an increase in subsidies, and announced its intention to phase out all private operation of bus services by 1979 as the licences came up for renewal. The private operators argued they were not prepared to operate the services if they became unprofitable; consequently it was decideded that the MTT would take the services over immediately. [3]
On 24 February 1974, the MTT took over the services of 12 operators and the remainder were acquired over the following 15 months. [3] [note 2] The buses were a motley collection, and in the late 1970s they were replaced by Volvo B59s. At the time of the Trust's demise in December 1975, it operated a fleet of AEC Regal VIs, Leyland Royal Tiger Worldmasters and AEC Swifts.
Among Ourselves was the MTT's house journal published bi-monthly with the first issue published in May 1946. [11] [12] It continued to be published by the STA until December 1993. [13]
Trams are a major form of public transport in Melbourne, the capital city of the state of Victoria, Australia. As of May 2017, the Melbourne tramway network consists of 250 kilometres of double track, 493 trams, 24 routes, and 1,763 tram stops. The system is the largest operational urban tram network in the world. Trams are the second most used form of public transport in overall boardings in Melbourne after the commuter railway network, with a total of 206 million passenger trips in 2017–18.
Adelaide Metro is the public transport system of Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is an intermodal system offering an integrated network of bus, tram, and train services throughout the metropolitan area. The network has an annual patronage of 79.9 million, of which 51 million journeys are by bus, 15.6 million by train, and 9.4 million by tram. The system has evolved heavily over the past fifteen years, and patronage increased dramatically during the 2014–15 period, a 5.5 percent increase on the 2013 figures due to electrification of frequented lines.
TransAdelaide was a publicly owned corporation established in July 1994, which provided suburban train, tram and bus services in Adelaide, South Australia, under contract to the Government of South Australia. It took over these responsibilities from the State Transport Authority.
The rail network in Adelaide, South Australia, consists of four lines and 89 stations, totalling 132 km (82 mi). It is operated by Keolis Downer under contract from the Government of South Australia, and is part of the citywide Adelaide Metro public transport system.
The Glenelg tram line is a tram/light rail line in Adelaide. Apart from a short street-running section in Glenelg, the line has its own reservation, with minimal interference from road traffic.
The State Transport Authority (STA) was the government agency which controlled public transport in South Australia between 1974 and 1994.
Metro Tasmania, commonly called Metro, a Tasmanian Government business enterprise, is the largest bus operator in the state of Tasmania, Australia, with operations in three of the four largest urban centres of Hobart, Launceston, and Burnie. Urban services in Devonport are provided by a private operator, Kinetic. Services are provided by Metro under a range of urban and non-urban contracts with the Transport Commission, a division within the Department of State Growth.
Until 1958, trams formed a network spanning most of Adelaide, with a history dating back to 1878. Adelaide ran horse trams from 1878 to 1914 and electric trams from 1909, but has primarily relied on buses for public transport since the mid-20th century. Electric trams, and later trolleybuses, were Adelaide's main method of public transport throughout the life of the electric tram network. The tram network was progressively closed down through the 1950s with the last lines closing in 1958; the Glenelg tram line was the only line to survive these closures and has remained in operation ever since and has been progressively upgraded and extended since 2005.
Buses in Adelaide are the most extensive service of the South Australian capital's public transport system, the Adelaide Metro. A large fleet of diesel, hybrid diesel-electric, and natural gas powered buses operate services which typically terminate in the city-centre or at a suburban interchange. Buses get priority on many roads and intersections, with dedicated bus lanes and 'B'-light bus only phases at many traffic lights.
The earliest trams in Australia operated in the latter decades of the 19th century, hauled by horses or "steam tram motors". At the turn of the 20th century, propulsion almost universally turned to electrification, although cable trams lingered in Melbourne. In cities and towns that had trams, they were a major part of public transport assets.
The Holdfast Bay railway line was a railway in western Adelaide. The line started in the city from the Adelaide railway station, and then headed west. From approximately where Henley Beach Road currently is, the railway then followed an almost direct route to the seaside suburb of Glenelg.
The Adelaide trolleybus system formed part of the public transport network in Adelaide, South Australia from 1932 until 1963.
The city of Geelong in Victoria, Australia, operated an extensive tramway system from 1912 until 1956, when the service was replaced by buses. Unlike Victoria's other major regional cities, Ballarat and Bendigo, which have kept some track and trams as tourist attractions, no trams or tracks remain in Geelong.
Sir William George Toop Goodman KBE MICE MIEE MIEAust, was an engineer and administrator who supervised the installation of New Zealand's first electric tramway and went on to oversee the foundation and growth of the Municipal Tramways Trust in Adelaide, South Australia.
The Tramway Museum, St Kilda is Australia's principal museum of the 19th and 20th century trams of Adelaide, South Australia. It is situated at St Kilda, 24 kilometres north of the centre of Adelaide. It is operated by the Australian Electric Transport Museum (SA) Inc., a not-for-profit volunteer organisation affiliated with the Council of Tramway Museums of Australasia. It is dedicated to the study, conservation and restoration of trams that were used in Adelaide or built there, and likewise with a small bus and trolleybus collection. Trams provide rides for visitors along a 1.6 km (0.99 mi) purpose-built track between the museum and a large adventure playground.
This article describes the tram types in Adelaide that have operated for the past 145 years: from early days when they undertook a major share of the public transport task before car ownership was well established; through the 49-year period when only one tram line operated; to the city's 21st-century tramways revival.
The Adelaide D type tram was a class of trams operated by the Municipal Tramways Trust on the Adelaide tram network from 1910 until 1958.
The H1 type Adelaide tram was a one-off tram built by JA Lawton & Sons in 1952 for the Municipal Tramways Trust (MTT), Adelaide.
This article – one of several about Adelaide’s tramways – covers the three decades before the 1910s when horses provided the motive power for all trams over a 74 miles network. Links to an overview and other articles are in the following panel.
This article – one of several about Adelaide’s trams – describes the development of new lines and operation of new trams since 2005. Links to an overview and other articles are in the following panel.
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.