Located off the southern coast of mainland Singapore, Sentosa (Isle of Tranquillity) was initially known as Pulau Blakang Mati (Island Behind Death). Starting from the 1880s, the island was an important British military base with a number of forts built on it to protect the southern shipping lanes. In 1970, the island was renamed Sentosa following a naming contest organised by the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board (STPB). The development of the island into a tourist and recreation resort came under the management of the Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC), which was formed in 1972.As part of the development plans, a bus service was started to transport visitors round the island. The fleet initially comprised of one double-decker and six single-decked buses that operated on a fixed route round the island. In 1975, a new fleet of buses operated by the Red Bus Services was added to the service. The new buses ran direct routes to popular attractions on the island such as the Coralarium, the Maritime Museum and Fort Siloso. They also used a new autofare slot machine system that charged commuters a fixed 20-cent fare for using the service. Buses continued to operate on the island even after the introduction of the monorail system in 1982. Together, both forms of transportation made travel around the island more convenient for visitors.
