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Of the Australian capital cities which closed their networks between the 1950s and 1970s (only Melbourne and Adelaide retained trams, although Adelaide only had one line in operation), Brisbane was the last capital city to close its tram network. Despite the decision to shut down the network, Brisbane's trams were held with great affection by locals, and their removal was termed "one of the most appalling urban planning mistakes in the city’s history".[2] There have been ongoing proposals since the early 1990s to reinstate a functional tram network. Through the 1940s and 1950s, the tram system enjoyed strong political support within the council, which continued to expand the tram network and upgrade its fleet with some of the most advanced trams in Australia.[3] Trolleybuses were introduced in 1951. The last tramway to open was in March 1961.[1] Clem Jones became Lord Mayor of Brisbane the same year, and all new route construction was canceled.[1] The decline of the electric street transport systems By 1948 Brisbane's trams failed to return a profit as they could not compete with the more efficient bus services.[3] Urban development, often well away from public transport, the rise of suburban shopping centers, and the relative decline in the cost of motorcars meant that as elsewhere, Brisbane's public street transport system increasingly had to compete with the private motor car and patronage slowly declined from a post-war peak of 148 million passenger journeys in 1946 to approximately 64 million passenger journeys in 1968. Political support for the tram system waned in the 1960s, particularly so after the Paddington tram depot fire on 28 September 1962. 67 trams were destroyed, which represented 20% of the entire fleet.[3] Brisbane's Lord Mayor Alderman Clem Jones was a pro-freeway and private car. The Kalinga, Toowong, Rainworth, and Bulimba ferry routes closed in December 1962.[4] The Brisbane Tramway Museum Society was formed in 1968 to preserve some of Brisbane's trams. At present the museum has 24 Brisbane trams in its collection, with 6 operational; California type tram 47, Ten Bench tram 65, Baby Dreadnought tram 99, Dropcentre tram 341, Four Motor tram 429, and the last tram built and officially operated in Brisbane, Four Motor Phoenix tram 554. Tramway operations commenced at the museum at Ferny Grove in 1980. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trams_in_Brisbane

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