Traveling on Colombo Roads – Cycles, Trams, Trolleys, Rickshaws and Double Deckers

Remembered Yesterdays

by J. Godwin Perera

‘Babi Achchi’ immortalized  the humble bicycle with that  baila classic still heard and sung when drinks, ‘bites’ and men get mixed together on a late evening . As to how and why an “Achchi’ got a bicycle may need a special Commission of Inquiry. But leaving the said ‘Babi Achchi’ aside there was a time when cycles  were the most popular mode of transport for teen-aged schoolboys. Roads were much less busy. No hustle, bustle, tussle and jostle. Hence loving parents who would have preferred their sons travelling to school in the family car did not fret nor fuss. What the parents did not know was that their obedient sons would  daily cycle past  girl’s schools even though it meant a longer trip. Opening time and closing time were the same. Most convenient. More fun. For both the school girls and school boys. Also attending net-ball matches was quite easy. A family car with driver attached made this simple enjoyment impossible. Worse, if a father drove the car. ‘Extra classes Ammi’  was the excuse for  getting late. And Ammi would nod her head understandingly and think that the teachers were a very dedicated lot. Also attending inter –school cricket matches was so much more convenient. One rode to the venue and sat on the cycle with one leg planted on the ground. Hands were free to clap or wave  a clenched fist and shout ‘Hora Umpire’     

Now to tramcars. Operating on two main routes, Fort – Grandpass  and Fort – Borella ( don’t worry about route details – just enjoy the ride) they were  slow and noisy. This noise was because of a foot pedal. In a one footed tap dance the driver kept tap, tapping on the pedal and it would go ‘Clang, Clang.’  And the ‘Clang, Clang’ was loud. Very Loud. This was a warning for other road users – Look out ! there’s a tram coming. The slowness helped  passengers ( most often ticketless ) to jump in and off  when convenient. These trams moved along rails, embedded into the road, and were electrically operated through overhead cables. Connecting these cables to the tram was through a castor fixed at the end of a long conduit attached  to the hood and set at 45 degrees in the direction in which the tram has to move. On reaching a terminal the conductor, using a long bamboo pole, would swing the conduit  into  the opposite  direction. The tram was now ready for the return trip. Making things simple was a driver’s control panel at both ends. But often while on the move the conduit  would swing out of alignment disconnecting the electricity supply and stalling the tram. Other road users waited. No hurry. No worry. The conductor, also in no hurry used the  bamboo pole and put the offending tube in place. And then the ‘Clang, Clang’ would resume. Traffic moved on.  

In 1953 the Colombo Municipality which had been running the tramcars substituted trolley buses. These did not run on rails but used the overhead power cables. There were single decker trolleys and double decker trolleys. The latter were the favorite for young couples. They would  climb up the winding stairs and occupy the very front seats.  Absolute privacy. The conductor too enjoyed this. Looking up at the female, invariably wearing a flared skirt, he had a ‘worm’s  eye view.’ It was a privileged sight which compensated for the poor salary he received. The trolleys were much more silent and doors closed and opened automatically at the discretion of the driver.  In 1964 due to a strike the Colombo Municipality took the opportunity to withdraw the unprofitable trolley buses. And  thereby  also withdrawing  the  travelling delight of young couples. Enter the motor buses. Actually while trams  and trolleys operated only in certain sections of the city as mentioned earlier, motor buses operated elsewhere. 

But let’s stall for a while and consider another popular mode of transport. The rickshaw. It consisted of a high, open, chair- like body with a hood and two wheels attached on either side. These were  very much like but larger in diameter, than those on a bullock cart. The rickshaw was drawn by an energetic, turbaned man of Tamil descent – the rickshaw ‘wallah,’ by means of  two shafts, again very much like those in a bullock cart. He trotted whenever he had a hire, because the fare was calculated on the time spent with the passenger. Not on the distance run. Rickshaws were used mainly by young school children and those who could not afford a car but disdained the use of public transport. However the big bonus for rickshaw ‘wallahs’ were the tourists who arriving by ship and landing at the  Jetty were delighted to be taken by rickshaws on a city tour. 

But not all tourists were pleased. One such was Albert Einstein, who was perhaps the greatest scientist in the world. On 28th October 1922, he and his wife Elsa while on a trip to Japan by ship, stopped over in Colombo. At the jetty they were immediately put into two rickshaws by the tour guide and taken on a city tour. Einstein referred to it as ‘abominable  treatment of a fellow human being.’ Elsa being more practical responded ‘For these men to earn a living they need our patronage.’  So there you are – same coin, two sides. 

Now to bus  transport. This was operated as an owner operated service without any government restrictions. It virtually meant that the owner operated his bus or buses just as he pleased. Profit was the only objective. But it meant that this type of profit had many seekers.  The number of owners operating on the same route increased. Inevitably this meant trouble. It came in the form of rivalry to get more passengers or the bigger load. Waiting in a queue to pick up passengers was dismissed as being impractical.  Hence, more practical  methods were adopted. Arguments, fights, stabbings. In plenty.  The British Government decided that this just won’t do. They introduced a Regulated Private Monopoly System. And so came into being bus companies with regulated routes. The better known were Colombo Omnibus Company, Ebert Silva Bus Company and South Western Bus Company. The latter owned by Sir Cyril de Zoysa, operated on Galle Road and was the first to introduce double decker buses. 

These red double deckers  were reconditioned ones from London Transport and were extremely popular because they carried more passengers. The Colombo Omnibus Company  with the cockerel symbol plying along Baseline Road soon followed with double deckers.  The Ebert Siva Bus Company  plied mainly between  Maradana and Kollupitiya. Where the other bus companies operated is beyond the scope of this article. But operate they did and certainly at a profit.

However, all good things must come to an end. S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike leading an M.E.P coalition had been swept into power in 1956. On January 1, 1958 the private bus companies were nationalised and the Ceylon Transport Board set up. The innaugural trip of the newly formed CTB conveyed the Prime Minister, the Minister of Transport, Maithripala Senanayake and some other hangers-on, in a maroon,  luxury, Mercedes Benz bus. Did someone say ‘Ape Aanduwa.’ One type of bus for the political elite another type of bus for the common people. ‘Jayawewa,’ ‘Jayawewa.’