Human-Friendly Vehicles to Be: 100 Years of Tokyo Bus Service History and What Comes Next

To celebrate Toei Bus' 100th anniversary in January 2024, buses with a special wrap design featuring its mascot Minkuru were introduced.
Through 100 Years of Changing Times
Toei Bus was born 100 years ago. After Tokyo's tram system was devastated by the Great Kanto Earthquake in September 1923, automotive vehicles were proposed as an alternative means of public transportation. The city bus system started operation in January 1924 after securing vehicles and drivers, and conducting trial runs, four months following the earthquake. This became the present-day Toei Bus.
Although Toei Bus was born as an emergency measure, it remains popular among Tokyo residents even 100 years later. The secret lies in its ability to adapt to the changing times.
Officials from the Bureau of Transportation explains, "After the war, securing enough transportation capacity was essential for the city's development. We utilized trams at first, but traffic conditions, congestion and other issues kept forcing lines to be discontinued. Toei Bus came in to fill the gap, and the bus service expanded rapidly."
Toei Bus served as an alternative to trams, but in the 1960s it started to fall behind the expanding subway system. As a result, the number of Toei Bus passengers declined, forcing the service to scale back its operations.
"At its peak, there were about 1.3 million passengers per day, but at one point it dropped to about 550,000. To date, Toei Bus has addressed these changes by reviewing the number of depots, routes, and timetables."
Eco-Friendly and Barrier-Free
Toei Bus has been adapting to the times by making use of its limited vehicles and personnel to provide service. It has taken a range of advanced measures, such as introducing multilingual signage and a location system to look up where each bus is in real time. In 2017, it became the first bus service in Japan to introduce fuel cell buses, which do not emit CO2 or other substances of concern. Now, it is working to make its vehicles physically accessible.

A fuel cell bus uses a chemical reaction between hydrogen stored in a tank on top of the bus and oxygen in the air to power its electric motor.
"Aiming to provide human-friendly vehicles, we made all of our buses step-less in 2013, which made it easier to get on and off. To further reduce barriers, we began operating fully flat-floor buses with no steps in the aisles in 2018. Currently, we have 29 such buses in operation," the bureau says.

A fully flat-floor bus with no steps in the back aisle
Driver Uniform Mystique
Toei Bus attracts attention overseas for a few more reasons. One of them is the driver uniform, such as hats and white gloves. "There are no official records about the hats, but the photos taken when the bus service first started show that they had already been wearing back then. Since the city tram drivers wore hats, I assume that bus drivers naturally followed suit," according to the Bureau.
As for the gloves, there is no requirement for wearing them. "Many of our drivers wear gloves, but it's up to the individual to decide whether or not to wear them. So why do they? Of course, part of the reason is that they are functional as a nonslip grip on the steering wheel and for signaling cars behind them, but I think it is also because they are considered to be a symbol of professional drivers."
The accuracy of the Toei Bus schedule is also often praised overseas. This is achieved by analyzing accumulated data and making frequent adjustments. "We measure to the second how long each bus takes between stops from start to finish, and create the schedule based on that. We make improvements to the schedule based on situations such as large facilities opening or major seasonal events being held along the route."
Driving Safely for the Next 100 Years
Toei Bus has always been one of the basic means of transportation for Tokyo residents since its creation. Currently, buses with special wrap designs to commemorate the 100th anniversary are running through the city. These include recreations of past vehicles as well as a centennial design, with the most popular being the green and cream color design from 1982.
"The colors of all of the Toei buses were made uniform in 1951. One of the recreated designs is from then, but the most popular one is the green and cream color that was introduced in 1982. This green color design was the basis for the Toei buses that we have today, and people feel nostalgic and close to them. Different generations enjoy them in their own ways."

The Toei Bus design that was introduced in 1982. It was called the "knuckle color" because of the diagonal line between cream and green colors.
No less popular is the Toei Bus mascot Minkuru, which celebrated its 25th anniversary this July.

The endearing Minkuru is popular across generations. Photo by Fujishima Ryo
While celebrating the 100th anniversary since the start of service in 1924, Toei Bus looks ahead to the next 100 years. "The bus industry's situation is far from bright, with issues like the nationwide shortage of drivers. Going forward, Toei Bus will continue to respond to the changing times with flexibility, but our values of 'driving safe and sound in Tokyo' without placing a burden on the environment will not change."
Bus Service Division, Bureau of Transportation, Tokyo Metropolitan Government