Guided Tours of Suffolk's Past
On the Move

The first public transport in Ipswich was provided by a horse tram company in 1880. In 1898 competition came in the form of horse buses, but in 1903 electric trams were installed and the horse buses went out of business.

• Map showing the 1936 extensions to the trolley bus service in Ipswich.

Public transport was to play a vital role in the expansion of the town, enabling people to live in the new suburbs and travel in to the centre to work.

In 1926 the trams were replaced by trolley buses which were more flexible to operate. Though they still relied upon power from overhead cables, they were not dependent upon rails set in the road. The service was still operated by Ipswich Transport Corporation, which meant that Ipswich did not experience the period of fierce competition between the two modes of transport that happened in nearly every other major urban centre.

The trolley buses were made by the county's largest engineering firms, Garretts of Leiston and Ransomes of Ipswich.

Click to view an Ipswich trolley- bus stop with litter bin attached.

The 1930s were the heyday of the trolley buses, but they continued in service well after the Second World War. The last one was withdrawn in 1963. Competition from diesel buses saw them off.

On the Move