Tokyo City purchased the Tokyo Railway Company , a streetcar operator , in 1911 , and placed its lines under the authority of the . The TMEB began bus service in 1924 as an emergency measure after the Great Kantō earthquake knocked out streetcar service in the city . ( The TMEB was also responsible for providing electric power to Tokyo , but this service was privatized in 1942 as Tokyo Electric )
Great Kantō earthquake
1923 Great Kantō earthquake
Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation