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Tales of the trolley buses
May 9, 2011, Monday
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HALF a century ago, the arrival of Hangzhou's trolley bus fleet signaled better times ahead for the country. Shi Xiaohan takes an electric-powered trip back down memory lane with a couple of women who were employed to drive the popular public transport.
It has been 50 years since trolley buses first hit the road in Hangzhou on April 26, 1961. Having witnessed the city's drastic changes, many older citizens still remember the development of electric buses with great affection. Among them were a group of women drivers who were hired since the debut of trolley buses to meet the rapidly growing demand of the public transport.
Wang Jinghua, a 79-year-old retiree, was one of the drivers of the first trolley buses and drove them for 20 years. She joined the public transportation company at the end of 1959 when it was planning to launch trolley bus service. Along with another seven drivers, Wang was sent to Shanghai to learn bus driving. After one year of training and practice in Shanghai, she returned to Hangzhou in 1960.
Today, she can still vividly recall how warmly welcomed the trolley buses were, which made her proud of being a driver. "The road was filled with curious people and everyone was applauding the buses' debut," said Wang.
It could be fairly difficult for young people today to understand why people were so excitable when they first saw trolley buses on the road.
During the 1950s, all the buses in Hangzhou were combinations of obsolete buses' parts. Then there came the Great Leap Forward (1959-1962) when petroleum supplies fell seriously short across the nation. Buses had to carry a huge box of gas on the top or use charcoal to fuel their operation. With that picture in mind, it is easier to imagine why people were so excited when they saw the brand-new trolley buses. The bus, as a fruit of the country's industrialization, indicated a brighter outlook for the future.
However, the buses were nothing fancy at the time. Their trolleys fell off the electric grids all the time. Without air-conditioning, drivers found it impossible to lean their backs in their chairs during the summer due to the heat. Wang herself developed chronic pain in her back as a result of longtime driving. Despite that, she reported zero-accident during her 20 years in service, which won her the honor of "Model Worker" in Zhejiang Province in 1982.
From their debut, trolley buses ran long routes and hours to relieve the crammed traffic. During the 1980s, trolley bus line No. 1 alone had transported nearly 21 percent of Hangzhou passengers.
Fu Aifeng joined the fleet in 1972 as a conductor on the bus after she graduated from high school. Six months later, she was trained to be a driver and was kept busy since then until she retired in 2004.
Drivers were always needed for trolley buses as it took time to train new ones as more bus lines kept opening up. "There were one and a half years from 1994 to 1995 when I did not have any days off," said Fu.
Though she only got two or three days off every month, she managed to balance her work and life. Whenever there was a chance for a break, she enjoyed travelling across China, even if it meant working overtime later.
"I worked hard, but I also played hard," Fu said. She was awarded as an "Excellent Driver" by the Hangzhou government seven times for her tireless work.
The development of the trolley bus system accelerated in 2002 when air-conditioned electric buses were first used. In 2003, the development peaked when the number of trolley bus lines reached seven with 238 buses on the fleet.
Trolley buses used to run through the city from north to south, east to west, carrying millions of passengers. However, as trolley buses are not flexible enough to adapt to the fast city development, many trolley bus lines were turned into regular bus lines in 2004. Today, only one trolley bus line, No. 151, is left in Hangzhou now.
Though declined, trolley buses do have some unforgettable merits. They are much cleaner and energy efficient, said Fu. Trolley buses in Hangzhou save more than 1,000 tons of pollutants and 23 million yuan (US$3.54 million) worth of fuel every year compared with regular buses, according to the bus company.
Last summer, the highest temperature in Hangzhou reached a historical record of 39.8 degree Celsius. Continuous construction and increasing traffic have added to the urban heat island effect of the city which makes Fu feel quite nostalgic about the past.
"I still remember my early years as a driver when I seldom felt the summers were unbearably hot even though there was no air-conditioning," Fu said. "The roads then were narrow and tree shade along the roads could always protect us from sunshine," she explained.
Today, trolley buses are being re-introduced worldwide as a solution to environmental and energy issues. Many people in Hangzhou are also waiting for the revitalization of electric buses in hope of a better environment.
It has been 50 years since trolley buses first hit the road in Hangzhou on April 26, 1961. Having witnessed the city's drastic changes, many older citizens still remember the development of electric buses with great affection. Among them were a group of women drivers who were hired since the debut of trolley buses to meet the rapidly growing demand of the public transport.
Wang Jinghua, a 79-year-old retiree, was one of the drivers of the first trolley buses and drove them for 20 years. She joined the public transportation company at the end of 1959 when it was planning to launch trolley bus service. Along with another seven drivers, Wang was sent to Shanghai to learn bus driving. After one year of training and practice in Shanghai, she returned to Hangzhou in 1960.
Today, she can still vividly recall how warmly welcomed the trolley buses were, which made her proud of being a driver. "The road was filled with curious people and everyone was applauding the buses' debut," said Wang.
It could be fairly difficult for young people today to understand why people were so excitable when they first saw trolley buses on the road.
During the 1950s, all the buses in Hangzhou were combinations of obsolete buses' parts. Then there came the Great Leap Forward (1959-1962) when petroleum supplies fell seriously short across the nation. Buses had to carry a huge box of gas on the top or use charcoal to fuel their operation. With that picture in mind, it is easier to imagine why people were so excited when they saw the brand-new trolley buses. The bus, as a fruit of the country's industrialization, indicated a brighter outlook for the future.
However, the buses were nothing fancy at the time. Their trolleys fell off the electric grids all the time. Without air-conditioning, drivers found it impossible to lean their backs in their chairs during the summer due to the heat. Wang herself developed chronic pain in her back as a result of longtime driving. Despite that, she reported zero-accident during her 20 years in service, which won her the honor of "Model Worker" in Zhejiang Province in 1982.
From their debut, trolley buses ran long routes and hours to relieve the crammed traffic. During the 1980s, trolley bus line No. 1 alone had transported nearly 21 percent of Hangzhou passengers.
Fu Aifeng joined the fleet in 1972 as a conductor on the bus after she graduated from high school. Six months later, she was trained to be a driver and was kept busy since then until she retired in 2004.
Drivers were always needed for trolley buses as it took time to train new ones as more bus lines kept opening up. "There were one and a half years from 1994 to 1995 when I did not have any days off," said Fu.
Though she only got two or three days off every month, she managed to balance her work and life. Whenever there was a chance for a break, she enjoyed travelling across China, even if it meant working overtime later.
"I worked hard, but I also played hard," Fu said. She was awarded as an "Excellent Driver" by the Hangzhou government seven times for her tireless work.
The development of the trolley bus system accelerated in 2002 when air-conditioned electric buses were first used. In 2003, the development peaked when the number of trolley bus lines reached seven with 238 buses on the fleet.
Trolley buses used to run through the city from north to south, east to west, carrying millions of passengers. However, as trolley buses are not flexible enough to adapt to the fast city development, many trolley bus lines were turned into regular bus lines in 2004. Today, only one trolley bus line, No. 151, is left in Hangzhou now.
Though declined, trolley buses do have some unforgettable merits. They are much cleaner and energy efficient, said Fu. Trolley buses in Hangzhou save more than 1,000 tons of pollutants and 23 million yuan (US$3.54 million) worth of fuel every year compared with regular buses, according to the bus company.
Last summer, the highest temperature in Hangzhou reached a historical record of 39.8 degree Celsius. Continuous construction and increasing traffic have added to the urban heat island effect of the city which makes Fu feel quite nostalgic about the past.
"I still remember my early years as a driver when I seldom felt the summers were unbearably hot even though there was no air-conditioning," Fu said. "The roads then were narrow and tree shade along the roads could always protect us from sunshine," she explained.
Today, trolley buses are being re-introduced worldwide as a solution to environmental and energy issues. Many people in Hangzhou are also waiting for the revitalization of electric buses in hope of a better environment.
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