1. STREETCARS, private ownership
2. BUSES, private ownership
3. PUBLIC OWNERSHIP, mostly buses
In most cities, streetcars were the first form of mass public transportation. The earliest street railways used cars pulled by horses, or sometimes mules. And later, some street railways adopted "steam dummy" trains, with would include a small steam locomotive shrouded with a streetcar body. And some street railways introduced cable cars, most famously preserved in San Francisco.
By the 1890's, electric streetcars were developed, and subsequently streetcars became the universal public transportation vehicle. Many electric railway systems became owned by the electric power companies, and some streetcar systems became part of interurban railway systems.
Mainly in the 1920's and 1930's, buses were introduced, often as expansions to existing streetcar systems. Or in some cities, where mass public transportation was never introduced during the streetcar era, buses became the first form of public transportation. Buses eventually replaced all of the existing streetcars, except in a few of the largest cities. Some cities used trolleybuses, also known as trackless trolleys. Rubber tired buses requiring being steered, but powered by electricity from overhead wires.
Generally in the largest cities, there was a continuous history of availability of public transportation. Streetcars were replaced with buses, either by the same or a different company. But in some cities, there were periods when public transportation did not exist. Some bus systems continued to be owned by power companies, other bus systems were owned by various different types of companies of different sizes.
The 1970's was the main decade, when it became evident that public transportation could not be profitable. And public agencies were formed to acquire and subsidize the public transportation systems. Some public agencies would directly operate the transit systems, other transit systems would be operated by private transit management companies under contract.
Some transit systems, mainly in larger cities, were acquired by the public sector earlier. Rail transportation exists in the larger cities, either older or newer "heavy rail" elevated or subway systems. Or "light rail" systems, either constructed new or having evolved from older streetcar systems. Such older streetcar routes were never converted to buses, most typically because of operation in tunnels in the central part of the city.
Most transit systems became owned by the cities served. Although in certain larger metropolitan areas, regional transit authorities were approved by the states and the voters to develop comprehensive transit systems serving both cities and suburbs. Some of these regional transit authorities now have jurisdiction over commuter rail lines, which historically were "steam" railroads.
For many of the largest cities, more detailed historical information is provided for the surface transit systems. Including how many of the present individual transit routes evolved from streetcar and bus routes introduced by the private transit companies. Availability of information is usually dependent on how much has been published about the different city transit systems. For some of the Midwest cities, historic streetcar and bus rosters are included. Information is not included for subway and rapid transit lines, which generally are well covered with other web sites.
Direct links to pages, linking to more detailed historical information for large city transit systems.
For many cities, the true histories of bus operations might not be accurately well documented. As many early bus services were unregulated "jitney" operations. This page focuses basically on the official legitimate bus operations.
For Canada, historical information for the streetcar companies is included at this linked web site.
All-Time List of Canadian Transit Systems