Atlanta Transportation System: Airport, Rail & Transit

Atlanta's transportation system is a complex multimodal system serving the city of Atlanta, Georgia. The system is widely recognized as a key regional and global hub for passenger and freight transportation. The Wikipedia entry states that this article needs to be updated. It also states please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information (July 2014).

Railroad Origins and Early Transit

Atlanta began as a railroad town. In 1836 the state of Georgia decided to build a railroad to the Midwest. In 1836 the state of Georgia chose as the terminus a location that is now Downtown Atlanta. Between 1845 and 1854 rail lines arrived from four different directions. In 1871 horsecars began operation in the city. Electric streetcars arrived in 1889. By 1926 passenger service peaked at 96,794,273 people per year.

Transit Mode Changes and Freeway Additions

The introduction of trolleybuses in 1937 led to the gradual decline and eventual end of electric streetcar service in 1949. At its height the trolleybus system carried 80 percent of all transit riders. By the end of 1949 Atlanta had 453 trolleybuses the largest fleet in the United States. Georgia Power had been losing money on the system since the 1920s. During the five-week-long transit strike of 1950 the company began looking for buyers. Four local businessmen formed the Atlanta Transit Company and purchased the transportation properties on June 23 1950. In late 1962 the Atlanta Transit Company operated 273 trolleybuses on 39 routes. The entire system was converted to diesel buses over a period of less than one month in September 1963. The Atlanta Transit Company continued operating bus services until it was bought by the newly-formed Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority in 1971. In the 1950s and 1960s several new freeways including I-20 and the Downtown Connector were introduced.