Private company

Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation

Logo: ™/®Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of Transportation, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons3

Public transport operator in Tokyo, Japan

The Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (Japanese: 東京都交通局, Hepburn: Tōkyō-to Kōtsū-kyoku), also known as Toei Transportation (都営交通, Toei Kōtsū), Toei Transport, or simply Toei (都営), is a bureau of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government which operates public transport services in Tokyo. Among its services, the Toei Subway is one of two rapid transit systems which make up the Tokyo subway system, the other being Tokyo Metro.2 It is headquartered in Tokyo City Hall Tower II.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

Aug 1, 1911Founded1
Toei Shinjuku Line 10280 10440 at Funabori Station
Photo: e3uematsu at Japanese Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons5

The Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (Japanese: 東京都交通局, Hepburn: Tōkyō-to Kōtsū-kyoku), also known as Toei Transportation (都営交通, Toei Kōtsū), Toei Transport, or simply Toei (都営), is a bureau of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government which operates public transport services in Tokyo. Among its services, the Toei Subway is one of two rapid transit systems which make up the Tokyo subway system, the other being Tokyo Metro.2

Corporate structure

Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation sits at the top of its group. 1 entity, 1 country on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

  • Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation Tokyo City Hall Tower II
    • Ōji-ekimae Station Owned · Ōji, Kita, Tokyo, Japan

Built from subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0); major holders from Schedules 13D and 13G. Each entity in the chart links to its source.

What it owns

What Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation reports owning in its annual reports to the SEC: buildings, land and equipment, real estate and locations, investments, intangible assets and inventory, at the end of its latest fiscal year and a year before.

Stakes and holdings (Wikidata)

  • Ōji-ekimae Station

Things Wikidata records the company as owning, with the share when stated.1

The story

Establishment

Tokyo City purchased the Tokyo Railway Company, a streetcar operator, in 1911, and placed its lines under the authority of the Tokyo Municipal Electric Bureau (東京市電気局, Tokyo-shi Denki Kyoku). The TMEB began bus 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).

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 remained independent), the Keio Electric Railway and the Tokyu Corporation, 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.

From Wikipedia’s article on Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Products and brands

Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation also maintains a large fiber-optic cable network in the city, as well as several electric power generators.

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

Read the full text

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.

From Wikipedia’s article on Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Subsidiaries and ownership

Also owns

  • Ōji-ekimae Station

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. Aug 1, 1911Founded Founded in Tokyo1