Passed by a Bus

Passed by a Bus. The Streetcar Era Ends. , Automobiles led to the demise of the streetcar system. Ridership peaked in 1922 at about 226 million; a decade later that number had decreased by half., In response to this trend, the company stopped running streetcars on the once busy routes west of Hopkins in 1932., Several bus services were operating within Minneapolis in the early 1920s, including one launched by the Twin City Rapid Transit Company. To ensure seamless service, and retain a monopoly on mass transit in the city, the company acquired its competitors by 1926. At first, it used buses to extend streetcar routes before tracks could be laid. In the 1930s, the company began converting streetcar lines to bus routes., As ridership continued to decline and costs increased, the company faced serious financial problems. Cutting routes and employees helped the bottom line, but infuriated the public. In the early 1950s, the cash-strapped company went to General Motors to buy 25 buses, and received an offer from GM to finance an overhaul of the entire system, including 525 new diesel buses. In short order, the transit company invested $13.6 million in buses, garages, and other equipment, and wrote off about the same amount for the equipment it abandoned. Streetcar service ended in Minneapolis on June 19, 1954., [Caption:] In 1953, Fred Ossanna chatted with a former streetcar operator, now a bus driver. Seven years later, Ossanna was sent to prison and fined for illicit activities during his tenure with the transit company. Credit: Saint Paul Dispatch and Pioneer Press. Photograph: Minnesota Historical Society Collections