Historically the town was served by two electric tram routes operated by Oldham Corporation. The first ran from Higginshaw and opened on 15 November 1904 it was almost immediately extended to Chadderton Road, Oldham. The second line from Royton opened on 13 April 1905. By January 1921 both lines shared a terminus at Wrens Nest and the Royton line had been extended to Hollinwood. In the same year, the routes were assigned numbers; Hollinwood to Shaw route was No.8 and the route to Chadderton Road was No.9. There were plans to extend the lines to the railway station and High Crompton but these never materialised. Route 9 was closed on 11 June 1935 and route 8 was closed on 2 December 1939, both were replaced by buses.