1931: The Transportation Board legislation
There were by now so many bus companies in operation it became necessary to establish some form of regulation. Rivalry was intense amongst the many smaller bus owners, as well the large scale Tramways Company. The Transportation Board outlined proposals to regulate the number of buses operating in the Cape, and this was enforced in 1931.
The 1931 Feeder Services Act
The Local Road Transportation Board set up an Act which limited services to Cape Town. Certificates were granted to the one operator who they considered capable of dealing with the passenger demands on that route. All buses which had operated from the Cape flats to the city were now restricted to Mowbray Station and this became known as the Railway Feeder Services.
Following this legislation, many of the smaller services disappeared and the larger companies took control of the main routes. Four important operators now remained; Peninsula Transport Company was granted the southern suburbs route and The City Tramways operated below the main road into Observatory. The other operators were Northern Transport Company to the Bellville areas and, of course, Golden Arrow Bus Services. These services were all running in competition to the tramway system, which was continually losing passengers. Golden Arrow eventually bought out the smaller operators and became the sole service provider for this area, with a fleet of ten buses.
By 1934, the City Tramways Company had acquired complete control of road transport in the peninsula as far as Wynberg. For many years after this, transportation in the Cape stabilised for the first time after considerable chaos among the small and large operators. It was nearly twenty years later that a business transaction took place which was to surprise everyone, but first there was a major shift in technology.
Welcome to the
Golden Arrow Bus Services