Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation

The Nihongo|Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation|東京都交通局|Tōkyō-to Kōtsū-kyoku is Tokyo's public transportation authority. Its subway lines are commonly described as 都営 "Toei", meaning "operated ("ei") by the metropolitan government ("to")."

Toei Subway

TMBT is one of the two rapid transit operators in Tokyo, which along with Tokyo Metro and, effectively, the JR East Yamanote Line make up the Tokyo Subway.

The Toei lines were originally licensed to the Teito Rapid Transit Authority (the predecessor of Tokyo Metro) but were constructed by the Tokyo metropolitan government following transfers of the licenses for each line. The subway has run at a financial loss for most of its history due to high construction expenses, particularly for the Oedo Line. However, it runs at a strong operating profit, and reported its first net profit of ¥3.13bn in FY 2006.

Tokyo Metro and Toei trains form completely separate networks. While users of prepaid rail passes can freely interchange between the two networks, regular ticket holders must purchase a second ticket, or a special transfer ticket, to change from a Toei line to a Tokyo Metro line and vice versa. The sole exception is on the segment of the Toei Mita Line between Meguro and Shirokane-Takanawa, where the platforms are shared with the Tokyo Metro Namboku Line and it is therefore possible to change between the networks without passing through a ticket gate.

The different gauges of the Toei lines arose in part due to the need to accommodate through services with private suburban railway lines. Through services currently in regular operation include:

*Asakusa Line:
**Keikyu Main Line and Keikyu Airport Line etc. (Sengakuji to Haneda Airport (Tokyo International Airport) and Misakiguchi)
**Keisei Oshiage Line, Keisei Main Line, Hokuso Railway Line, Keisei Higashi-Narita Line and Shibayama Railway Line (Oshiage to Narita Airport, Inba-nihonidai-mae or Shibayama-Chiyoda)
*Mita Line:
**Tokyu Meguro Line (Meguro to Musashi-Kosugi)
*Shinjuku Line:
**Keio New Line, Keiō Line and Keio Sagamihara Line (Shinjuku to Hashimoto)

The Oedo Line does not have through service with any other line.

Light rail lines

In addition to the subways, Toei also operates the Toden Arakawa Line streetcar, the Ueno Zoo Monorail, 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 network.

Most routes are designated by a Chinese 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. Some routes replace the initial character with Latin letters, one prominent example being the RH01 service between Roppongi Hills and Shibuya. Others use a special character derived from the route, such as 虹01 ("Niji" [Rainbow] 01) 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 network in the city, as well as several electric power generators.

History

Establishment

Tokyo City purchased the Tokyo Railway Company, a streetcar operator, in 1911, and placed its lines under the authority of the nihongo|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 Kanto 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.

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 grounding.

ee also

* List of rapid transit systems

External links

* [http://www.kotsu.metro.tokyo.jp/english/index.html Official site (in English)]