California Transit Association

A compendium of California's public transit history in book form, A Brief History of Transit in California is the product of a collaboration between the Association and Elizabeth Deakin, Professor of City and Regional Planning and Urban Design at the University of California, Berkeley.

• Download A Brief History of Transit in California in flipbook format.

• Order a printed, bound copy of A Brief History of Transit in California.

In addition to an overview of transit history in California and across the nation, the book includes chapters on:

• The role of the federal government in transit
• Funding for transit in California
• Linkages between transit and urban development
• The growing importance of social and environmental considerations in providing transit service
• Institutional arrangements for transit provision
• What transit might look like in the future

An appendix to the book includes ten of papers authored by students at UC Berkeley, including:

• Proposition 13: The Case of AC Transit
• Improving the Pedestrian Experience to Transit
• History of Bay Area Transit Agencies and Regional Coordination
• Recent Trends in Transit Worker Wages and Benefits
• History of BRT in California: Los Angeles and the Bay Area
• Ridesharing: A Revisit to American Jitneys a Century Later
• Big Transit in Little Berkeley
• Early Rail Rapid Transit Proposals for Los Angeles
• Factors Influencing Public Transit Ridership among San Francisco County Residents
• The San Diego Trolley: The Little Light Rail That Could