APTA: Milestones in U.S. Public Transportation History

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bgcolor="#003366" class="date"><span class="date">September 30, 2007</span></td> <td bgcolor="#003366" align="right"> <div class="headerSearch"> <form name="search" method="post" action="/web/20070930065141/http://www.apta.com/SearchResults.cfm"> <input type="radio" name="searchType" value="APTA" checked> APTA     Search: <input type="Text" name="Criteria" size="10"> <a href="javascript: document.search.submit()"><img src="/web/20070930065141im_/http://www.apta.com/images/GoButton.gif" class="searchGo" border="0" alt="Click here to search" width="26" height="24"></a> </form> </div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" valign="top" class="contentColor"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td valign="top" class="contentColor"> <span class="breadcrumb"> <a class="breadcrumb" href="/web/20070930065141/http://www.apta.com/">APTA</a> > <a class="breadcrumb" href="/web/20070930065141/http://www.apta.com/research/">Industry Information</a> > <a class="breadcrumb" href="/web/20070930065141/http://www.apta.com/research/stats/">Transit Statistics</a> > <a class="breadcrumb" href="/web/20070930065141/http://www.apta.com/research/stats/history/">Public Transportation History Statistics</a> </span> <a name="startcontent"> </a> <h1>Milestones in U.S. Public Transportation History</h1> <div class="contentMargin"> <p class="heading2">Milestones in U.S. Public Transportation History</p> <p> 1630        Boston--reputed first publicly operated ferryboat<br/> 1740        New York--reputed first use of ox carts for carrying of passengers<br/> 1811        New York--first mechanically operated (steam-powered) ferryboat<br/> 1827        New York--first horse-drawn urban stagecoach (omnibus) line (Dry Dock & East Broadway)<br/> 1830        Baltimore--first railroad (Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Co.)<br/> 1832        New York--first horse-drawn street railway line (New York & Harlem Railroad Co.)<br/> 1835        New Orleans--oldest street railway line still operating (New Orleans & Carrollton line)<br/> 1838        Boston--first commuter fares on a railroad (Boston & West Worcester Railroad)<br/> 1850        New York--first use of exterior advertising on street railways<br/> 1856        Boston--first fare-free promotion<br/> 1870        Pittsburgh--first inclined plane<br/> 1871        New York--first steam-powered elevated line (New York Elevated Railroad Co.)<br/> 1872        Great Epizootic horse influenza epidemic in eastern states kills thousands of horses (the motive power for most street railways)<br/> 1873        San Francisco--first successful cable-powered line (Clay St. Hill Railroad)<br/> 1874        San Francisco, CA--first recorded strike by street railway workers<br/> 1882        Boston--American Street Railway Association (APTA's original predecessor) formed<br/> 1883        New York--first publicly operated cable-powered line (Brooklyn Bridge)<br/> 1883        New York--first surviving street railway labor organization (Knights of Labor Local 2878)<br/> 1884        Cleveland--first electric street railway line (East Cleveland Street Railway)<br/> 1884        first public transportation-only publication (The Street Railway Journal)<br/> 1886        Montgomery, AL--first semi-successful citywide electric street railway transit agency (Capital City Street Railway Co.)<br/> 1888        Richmond, VA--first successful electric street railway transit agency (Union Passenger Railway)<br/> 1889        New York--first major strike by street railway workers<br/> 1892        Indianapolis--first national street railway labor union founded (Amalgamated Association of Street Railway Employees of America, now called the Amalgamated Transit Union)<br/> 1893        Portland, OR--first interurban rail line (East Side Railway Co.)<br/> 1894        Boston--first public transportation commission (Boston Transit Commission)<br/> 1895        Chicago--first electric elevated rail line (Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railway)<br/> 1897        Boston--first electric underground street railway line (West End Street Railway/Boston Elevated Railway Co.)<br/> 1897        Boston--first publicly-financed public transportation facility (street railway tunnel)<br/> 1898        Chicago--first electric multiple-unit controlled rail line (Chicago & South Side Rapid Transit Railroad Co.)<br/> 1904        Bismarck, ND--first state-operated street railway (State of North Dakota Capital Car Line)<br/> 1904        New York--first electric underground (& first 4-track express) heavy rail line (Interborough Rapid Transit Co.)<br/> 1905        New York--first public takeover of a private public transportation company (Staten Island Ferry)<br/> 1905        New York--first bus line (Fifth Avenue Coach Co.)<br/> 1906        Monroe, LA--first municipally-owned street railway 1908        New York--first interstate underground heavy rail line (Hudson & Manhattan Railroad to New Jersey)<br/> 1910        Hollywood, CA--first trolleybus line (Laurel Canyon Utilities Co.)<br/> 1912        San Francisco--first publicly operated street railway in a large city (San Francisco Municipal Railway) <br/> 1912        Cleveland--first street railway to operate buses (Cleveland Railway)<br/> 1916        Saint Louis--first public bus-only transit agency (St. Louis Division of Parks and Recreation Municipal Auto Bus Service)<br/> 1917        New York--last horse-drawn street railway line closed<br/> 1920        first bus not based on truck chassis (Fageol Safety Coach)<br/> 1921        New York--first successful trolleybus line<br/> 1923        Bay City, MI, Everett, WA, Newburgh, NY--first cities to replace all streetcars with buses<br/> 1926        highest peacetime public transportation ridership before World War II (17.2 billion)<br/> 1927        Philadelphia--first automobile park and ride lot and first bus-rail transfer facility for a non-commuter rail line<br/> 1932        New York--first publicly operated heavy rail line (Independent Subway)<br/> 1933        San Antonio--first large city to replace all streetcars with buses<br/> 1934        New York--Transport Workers Union of America founded<br/> 1935        Washington--Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 requires most power companies to divest themselves of public transportation operations and eliminates much private public transportation financing<br/> 1936        New York--first industry-developed standardized street railway car (P.C.C. car) (Brooklyn & Queens Transit System)<br/> 1936        Washington--first large-scale federal government public transportation assistance (Public Works Administration)<br/> 1938        Chicago--first use of federal capital funding to build a public transportation rail line<br/> 1939        Chicago--first street with designated bus lane<br/> 1940        first time bus ridership exceeded street railway ridership<br/> 1940        San Francisco becomes last surviving cable car transit agency<br/> 1941        New York, NY--first racially-integrated bus operator workforce<br/> 1943        Los Angeles--first rail line in expressway median (Pacific Electric Railway)<br/> 1943        New York--first issue of <em>Transit Fact Book</em> (then called "The Transit Industry of the United States, Basic Data and Trends")<br/> 1946        highest-ever public transportation ridership (23.4 billion)<br/> 1946        Washington--U.S. Supreme Court bans racial segregation in interstate transportation<br/> 1952        San Francisco--last new PCC car for U.S. transit agency placed in service<br/> 1958        authority for railroads to discontinue commuter service transferred from states to U.S. Interstate Commerce Commission<br/> 1961        Washington--first significant federal public transportation legislation (Housing & Urban Development Act of 1961)<br/> 1962        Seattle--first monorail (Seattle World's Fair)<br/> 1962        New York--first automated heavy rail line (Grand Central Shuttle)<br/> 1963        Chicago becomes last surviving city with interurban line (Chicago, South Shore, & South Bend Railroad)<br/> 1964        Washington--first major U.S. government public transportation program (Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964)<br/> 1966        New York--first public takeover of commuter railroad (Long Island Rail Road Co.)<br/> 1966        Providence--first statewide transit agency (Rhode Island Public Transit Authority)<br/> 1968        Washington--agency administering federal public transportation program re-named Urban Mass Transportation Administration and moved to new Department of Transportation<br/> 1968        Minneapolis--first downtown transit mall (Nicollet Mall)<br/> 1968        Cleveland--first rail station at an airport opened<br/> 1969        Washington--first transitway (Shirley Highway)<br/> 1969        Philadelphia--first modern heavy rail transit agency replacing former rail line (Port Authority Transit Corporation)<br/> 1970        Fort Walton Beach, FL--first dial-a-ride demand response transit agency<br/> 1971        Washington--first federally subsidized intercity passenger railroad (AMTRAK)<br/> 1972        San Francisco--first computer-controlled heavy rail transit agency (Bay Area Rapid Transit District)<br/> 1972        public transportation ridership hits lowest point in 20th century (6.6 billion)<br/> 1973        Washington--some public transportation service required to be accessible to disabled (Rehabilitation Act of 1973)<br/> 1974        Boston, Cleveland, Newark, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, & San Francisco become the last street railway systems<br/> 1974        Washington--first federal public transportation operating assistance legislation (National Mass Transportation Assistance Act of 1974)<br/> 1974        American Public Transit Association formed from merger of 2 organizations<br/> 1975        Morgantown, WV--first automated guideway transit agency (West Virginia University)<br/> 1977        San Diego--first wheelchair-lift-equipped fixed-route bus<br/> 1979        Washington--first standardized public transportation data accounting system (Section 15)<br/> 1980        San Diego--first completely new light rail transit agency in decades (San Diego Trolley)<br/> 1983        Washington--public transportation trust fund for capital projects created through dedication of one cent of federal gas tax<br/> 1989        Miami--first completely new commuter rail transit agency in decades (Tri-County Commuter Rail Authority)<br/> 1990        Washington--virtually all public transportation service required to be accessible to disabled (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990)<br/> 1990        Washington--public transportation buses subject to strict pollution controls (Clean Air Act of 1990)<br/> 1991        Washington--federal government allowed to subsidize its employees' commuting costs<br/> 1991        Washington--first general authorization of use of highway funds for public transportation (Intermodal Surface Transp. Efficiency Act)<br/> 1992        Washington--first limitation on amount of tax-free employer-paid automobile parking benefits and tripling of value of tax-free benefit for public transportation use (National Energy Policy Strategy Act)<br/> 1993        Washington--public transportation workers in safety-sensitive positions subjected to drug and alcohol testing<br/> 1998        Washington--major expansion and restructuring of federal transportation program (Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century)<br/> 2000        American Public Transit Association changes name to American Public Transportation Association<br/> 2005        Federal transit law (SAFETEA-LU) reauthorized extending federal funding through 2009 </p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070930065141/http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html" target="_new" class="calendarItem">Some of these pages may include links to documents in the Adobe PDF format. 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APTA: Milestones in U.S. Public Transportation History