Action Transit history

1827 - Horse-drawn omnibus begins service along Broadway (New York, NY)

1830 - First railroad (Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Co.) (Baltimore, MD)

1832 - First streetcar in America; horse-drawn rail cars begin service along the Bowery (New York, NY)

1835 - Oldest street railway line still operating (New Orleans & Carrollton line) (New Orleans, LA)

1838 - First commuter fares on a railroad (Boston & West Worcester Railroad) (Boston, MA)

Boston’s first horsecar on rails, which avoided the ruts of Boston’s streets, and could carry more passengers, operated between Central Square in Cambridge and Bowdoin Square in Boston beginning in 1856.

1863 - First subway in the world; trains hauled by steam engines begin service (London, England)

1868 - First cable-powered (and first elevated) line (West Side & Yonkers Patent Railway) (New York, NY)

1870 - First pneumatic-powered (and first underground) line (Beach Pneumatic Railroad Co.) (New York, NY)

1871 - First steam-powered elevated line (New York Elevated Railroad Co.) (New York, NY)

1873 - First cable car in the world runs up Clay Street (San Francisco, CA)

1883 - First publicly operated cable-powered line (Brooklyn Bridge) (New York, NY)

1884 - First electric street railway line (East Cleveland Street Railway) (Cleveland, OH)

1886 - First semi-successful citywide street railway transit agency (Capital City Street Railway Co.) (Montgomery, AL)

By 1887, more than 20 companies (and 8,000 horses!) provided horsecar service around Boston.

1888 - First successful electric street railway (Richmond, VA)

The West End Company and Boston’s City Council were so impressed, they debuted the city’s first electric streetcar on January 1, 1889, connecting the Allston Railroad Depot, to Coolidge Corner and Park Square.

In response, the Governor of Massachusetts and Mayor of Boston appointed the Rapid Transit Commission to investigate improvements to the system in July 1891.

1893 - First interurban rail line (East Side Railway Co.) (Portland, OR)

1895 - First electric elevated rail line (Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railway) (Chicago, IL)

They also authorized the creation of the Boston Elevated Railway Company (BERy), which would ultimately absorb the property of the West End Street Railway in 1897.

1898 - First electric multiple-unit controlled rail line (Chicago & South Side Rapid Transit Railroad Co.) (Chicago, IL)

1904 - New York's first subway (New York, NY)

1906 - First municipal street railway (Monroe, LA)

1910 - First trolleybus line (Laurel Canyon Utilities Co.) (Hollywood, CA)

1914 - First jitney (Los Angeles, CA)

BERy faced financial struggles in 1918 that led to the General Court of Massachusetts passing the Public Control Act.

1921 - First successful trolleybus line (New York, NY)

1926 - Except for the years of the Second Word War, transit patronage in America reaches its all-time high of 17.3 billion riders

1932 - First publicly operated heavy rail line (Independent Subway) (New York, NY)

1936 - First industry-developed standardized street railway car (P.C.C. car) (Brooklyn & Queens Transit System) (New York, NY)

1938 - First use of federal capital funding to build a public transportation rail line (Chicago, IL)

1940 - First time bus ridership exceeded street railway ridership

1943 - First rail line in expressway median (Pacific Electric Railway) (Los Angeles, CA)

In 1947, the state legislature formed the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) to absorb BERy.

In 1957, the MTA authorized the expansion of rapid transit along the Newton Highlands Branch of the Boston and Albany Railroad.

Service on the Highland Branch began in 1959, and is still in operation today as the Green Line D Branch, with service between Boston and Newton, MA.

1961 - First significant federal public transportation legislation (Housing & Urban Development Act of 1961) (Washington, DC)

1962 - First automated heavy rail line (Grand Central Shuttle) (New York, NY)

The MBTA, or the "T," was voted into law on August 3, 1964, becoming the first combined regional transit system in the United States, serving 78 municipalities in the Greater Boston area.

Since 1965, the FTA has funded $3.5 billion in improvement projects at the MBTA.

1966 - First re-authorization of transit assistance program

1968 - First rail station at an airport opened (Cleveland, OH)

1969 - First modern heavy rail transit agency replacing former rail line (Port Authority Transit Corporation) (Philadelphia, PA)

1971 - First federally subsidized intercity passenger railroad (AMTRAK) (Washington, DC)

1972 - Project FARE (Financial Accounting and Reporting Elements)

1973 - Some public transportation service required to be accessible to disabled (Rehabilitation Act of 1973) (Washington, DC)

1974 - Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA) Act amended to add § 15 requirements, or Uniform System of Accounts (USOA) and Reporting System

1975 - First automated guideway transit agency (West Virginia University) (Morgantown, WV)

1976 - First link in Washington Metrorail system opens for service (Washington, DC)

1978 - First "three billion dollar year" for transit assistance program

By December 1980, increased demand and funding shortages resulted in a 1-day shutdown.

1982 - STA Act, NTD data used in formula to apportion funds

In May 1987, crews completed their demolition of the elevated Orange Line and riders celebrated the completion of nine new accessible Orange Line stations.

1989 - First completely new commuter rail transit agency in decades (Tri-County Commuter Rail Authority) (Miami, FL)

In 1990, the federal government passed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) which required that public transportation be accessible.

First general authorization of use of highway funds for public transportation under the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) (Washington, DC)

1994 - Publication of revised Uniform System of Accounts (USOA)

1998 - Major expansion and restructuring of federal public transportation program under the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (Washington, DC)

In 2002, a group of riders filed a class-action lawsuit against the MBTA. Four years later, the parties entered into the Daniels-Finegold et al.

2007 - Revised new Rural NTD Module based on SAFETEA-LU requirements and feedback from first year of reporting

In 2009, Governor Deval Patrick signed legislation that put the MBTA under the jurisdiction of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT).