The , also known as , is a bureau of the

Tokyo Metropolitan Government The is the government of the Tokyo Metropolis. One of the 56 prefectures of Japan, the government consists of a popularly elected governor and assembly. The headquarters building is located in the ward of Shinjuku. The metropolitan governme ...

which operates public transport services in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

. Among its services, the

Toei Subway The is one of two subway systems in Tokyo, the other being Tokyo Metro. The Toei Subway lines were originally licensed to the Teito Rapid Transit Authority (the predecessor of Tokyo Metro) but were constructed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government ...

is one of two

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be ...

systems which make up the

Tokyo subway The is a part of the extensive rapid transit system that consists of Tokyo Metro and the Toei Subway in Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, the Greater Tokyo area of Japan. While the subway system itself is largely within the city center, the lines exten ...

system, the other being

Tokyo Metro The is a major rapid transit system in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the Tokyo Metro Co. With an average daily ridership of 6.84 million passengers, the Tokyo Metro is the larger of the two subway operators in the city; the other being the Toe ...

Toei Subway

Light rail lines

In addition to the subways, Toei also operates the

Toden Arakawa Line The , branded as the , is a hybrid light rail/tram line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (Toei). The Arakawa Line is the sole survivor of Tokyo's once-extensive Tokyo Toden streetcar system. It is one ...

streetcar, the

Ueno Zoo Monorail The is a long suspended railway operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (Toei). It lies within the Ueno Zoo in Taitō, Tokyo, Japan. The monorail is similar to the Wuppertal Schwebebahn, but has rubber tires rather tha ...

, and the Nippori-Toneri Liner automated guideway transit.

Bus lines

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 is a railway station in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, operated jointly by East Japan Railway Company (JR East), Keio Corporation, Tokyu Corporation, and Tokyo Metro. With 2.4 million passengers on an average weekday in 2004, it is the fourth-busiest ...

. Some routes replace the initial character with Latin letters, one prominent example being the RH01 service between

Roppongi Hills is a development project in Tokyo and one of Japan's largest integrated property developments, located in the Roppongi district of Minato, Tokyo. Constructed by building tycoon Minoru Mori, the mega-complex incorporates office space, apartm ...

and Shibuya. Others use a special character derived from the route, such as 虹01 (''Niji'' ainbow01) which crosses the Rainbow Bridge. Some cross-town routes begin with the character 都 (''to'' "metropolitan").

Other services

Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation also maintains a large

fiber optic cable A fiber-optic cable, also known as an optical-fiber cable, is an assembly similar to an electrical cable, but containing one or more optical fibers that are used to carry light. The optical fiber elements are typically individually coated with ...

network in the city, as well as several electric power generators.

History

Establishment

Tokyo City was a municipality in Japan and part of Tokyo-fu which existed from 1 May 1889 until its merger with its prefecture on 1 July 1943. The historical boundaries of Tokyo City are now occupied by the Special Wards of Tokyo. The new merged gove ...

purchased the Tokyo Railway Company, a

streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport a ...

operator, in 1911, and placed its lines under the authority of the . The TMEB began

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

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 , also known as or TEPCO, is a Japanese electric utility holding company servicing Japan's Kantō region, Yamanashi Prefecture, and the eastern portion of Shizuoka Prefecture. This area includes Tokyo. Its headquarters are located in Uchisa ...

). 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 The is a subway line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by Tokyo Metro. The official name is . It is 14.3 km long and serves the wards of Shibuya, Minato, Chūō, Chiyoda, and Taitō. It is the oldest subway line in Asia. The line was named aft ...

remained independent), the

Keio Electric Railway () is a private railway operator in Tokyo, Japan, and the central firm of the that is involved in transport, retail, real estate and other industries. The name is derived from taking one character each from the places through which the railw ...

and the

Tokyu Corporation The is a Japanese multinational '' keiretsu'' (conglomerate) holding company headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo. Its main operation is , a wholly owned subsidiary operating railways in the Greater Tokyo Area. History The oldest predecessor ...

, 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.

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

External links

Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (Toei) – official website
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