A Social History of Singapore's Buses
Our bus heritage cannot be fully appreciated without bearing in mind the wider socio political context. We have spared no effort in ensuring sensitivity and nuance in this pillar of our research.
Source: National Archives Singapore
1930s
Fuqing and Henghua immigrants dominated the ownership of Chinese bus companies. Think of a business operated wholly based on trust, kinship and without interference from British officials— that was the unique dynamic these entrepreneurs had.
Still, the introduction of these 'Chinese' buses were not warmly welcomed by the locals, who tasted the luxury of the comfortable vehicles that the Englishmen had begun to roll out (York and Phillips 1996, 48, 52).
Lawlessness & Poor Conditions
The narrative of Singapore's bus history, especially in this era, is very much marked by strikes and unrest, racial connotations, as well as threats to statehood. Scroll down to see why.
Gangsterism
Chinese gangsters who targeted the buses almost always had the same modus operandi: Two or three Chinese youths will board a bus and point a revolver at the conductor, before chasing passengers down, and setting the bus on fire (York and Phillips 1996, 83).
Strikes
Oppressive British educational and labour policies made Chinese students and workers feel discriminated throughout the 1950s (Frost and Balasingamchow 2009, 356). Heavy communist connotations that were tied to the Chinese-speaking community were not helpful in changing the negative perceptions that colonial authorities harboured.
Hock Lee Bus Riots
The Hock Lee Amalgamated Bus Company fired more than 200 bus workers due to their association with the Singapore Bus Workers' Union, from April to May 1955.
This lead to confrontations between the police, Hock Lee bus workers and Chinese students who supported the bus workers (York and Phillips 1996, 93).
As a result, lorry buses were deployed to ferry students affected to school (The Straits Times 1955).
Unlicensed 'pirate' taxis also jumped at the opportunity to profit off the situation, much to the ironic annoyance of the bus companies, who felt like they were losing profits to the taxi operators (Lee 2017).
The Hock Lee bus riots were not the only case of unrest in the 1950s. Many other groups of bus workers went on strikes for reasons similar to this case.
Source: Roots.sg
Source: F. W. York Collection, National Archives Singapore
Poor Conditions
The following points illustrate just how dreadful the experience of riding on a bus could be in the 1950s and 1960s.
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Overcrowding: to the point where passengers would fall off buses, and pickpockets saw the buses as their haven (York and Phillips 1996, 8)
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Run-down buses: windows could not be closed fully, buses often broke down (Lee 2017)
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Pollution: fumes would pollute the streets along the bus route
The Consolidation of an Industry
On April 11, 1971, the 11 existing bus companies were reorganised into four entities (Lee 2017):
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Amalgamated Bus Company
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Associated Bus Services
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United Bus Company
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Singapore Traction Company
Much Needed Overhaul
In 1973, the Singapore government decided to step in to put an end to the unnecessarily fierce competition and unstandardised fares.
The Singapore Bus Service (SBS) was thus formed in 1973, marking one of the first government interventions in the affairs of private companies.
To ensure that SBS started on the right note, the Government Team of Officials roped in the Singapore Armed Forces to repair ageing buses, instituted staff facilities and training, plus wiped out rampant corruption (Lee 2017).
Image Source: SBS
“Staff morale is low because of poor working conditions. On the other hand, slack discipline has resulted in wide-spread malingering, unjustifiably high charges on overtime and poor standards of maintenance and service… we are of the opinion that if SBS is left to run on its own, the quality of our public bus service will deteriorate still further…"
Management and Operations of Singapore Bus Service Ltd: Report of Government Team of Officials
At a glance: Bus Service Enhancement Programme, completed by 2017
References
Frost, Mark R., and Yu-Mei Balasingamchow. Singapore: A Biography. Singapore: Editions Didier Millet, 2009.
“It's another walk to work day—buses still off the roads.” The Straits Times, April 29, 1955. https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19550429-1.2.12.
Lee, Meiyu. “The Road to Nationalisation: Public Buses in Singapore.” BiblioAsia, October 5, 2017. https://biblioasia.nlb.gov.sg/vol-13/issue-3/oct-dec-2017/roadtonationalisation.
"Milestone." SBS Transit. Accessed April 2, 2023. https://www.sbstransit.com.sg/milestones.
Singapore Book of Records. “Transport.” Accessed April 4, 2023. https://singaporerecords.com/transport/.
Singapore, Ministry of Communications. Management and Operations of Singapore Bus Service Ltd: Report of Government Team of Officials. Singapore: Singapore National Printers, 1974.
York, F. W., and A. R. Phillips. Singapore: A History of its Trams, Trolleybuses & Buses. Croydon: DTS Publishing, 1996.
Zaccheus, Melody. “Billion-dollar Bus Service Enhancement Programme ends after five years; 1,000 buses added to Singapore roads.” The Straits Times, December 11, 2017.
