The story
History
Creation
The first tram line was established in 1912.
In 1929, the Bureau acquired control of the Kagoshima Electric Tramway (鹿児島電気軌道株式会社, Kagoshima denki kidō kabushikigaisha) for 4,963,775 yen and 78 sen, moving towards public ownership.
World War Two
Due to air raids in 1945, only 3 out of 62 trains were left intact and operational.
Postwar
The ultra-low-floor train (U-Tram) began operating on January 15, 2002. Initially, three cars were introduced, with a further three vehicles added between May 2004 and March 2005. There are currently a total of nine vehicles on the line in operation.
Two articulated ultra-low-floor trains (Utram II) began operation on April 26, 2007.
On March 30, 2017, two ultra-low-floor trains (Utram III) began operating.
History
Establishment
The first automobile transportation lines in Kagoshima City began operating on December 31, 1929 (route length: 15.353 km, 8 vehicles). On April 8, 1930, the city government acquired "Ao Bus'' of Kagoshima Jidosha and began operating all city buses.
World War Two
During WW2, the national lack of gasoline, firewood and charcoal meant steam powered vehicles appeared. During this time, the first female driver was also introduced. Due to air raids in 1945, only 3 out of 62 trains and 3 out of 45 buses remained.
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Postwar
On October 22nd 1960, the first one-man operation on buses started alongside modern bus rolling stock.
On March 6th 1970, the 'Love' priority seat system was created. The system focused on bettering accessibly for people with physical disabilities, the elderly, and people with small children.
On March 18th 1994, the tourist attraction bus (Kagoshima City View) began operating.
5 Hybrid buses began operations on February 27, 2006. This marked the start of decarbonisation effort of the city fleet.
On October 18, 2011, the Sakurajima Tour Bus (Sakurajima Island View) began operating.
Privatisation
In 2020, some municipal bus routes (16 routes) were transferred to private operators, marking the end of 90 years of public ownership. Another 4 routes were transferred in April 2021.
From Wikipedia’s article on Kagoshima City Transportation Bureau, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3