About The Oldest Transit System In America
Also considered the oldest subway system in North America
A transit system, also known as public transportation or mass transit, is a system of transporting people by group travel, typically on a schedule and established routes, available for use by the general public.
The oldest transit system in America is Boston's subway system, specifically the Green Line. The Tremont Street subway opened in September 1897 as the first subway in the United States and is the oldest active subway tunnel in North America. Boston has both the oldest subway tunnel (Tremont Street subway) and the oldest continuously operating transit line (Green Line) in America.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority describes it as the birthplace of public transit in America. Britannica defines it as the first practical subway line in the United States. Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Centerthe recognizes it as the first public transit subway in America.
Boston's first subway had its inaugural run on September 1, 1897, which makes the MBTA's Green Line over 115 years old. The Tremont Street subway opened in 1897 as North America's first subway tunnel and is still in use today, connecting Government Center, Park Street, and Boylston stations.
Boston’s public transit started with horse-drawn omnibuses in the 1830s, offering shared rides along fixed routes. By the 1850s, horsecar lines, which ran on tracks embedded in streets, became common.
The Cambridge Horse Railroad (1856) was one of the first, connecting Boston to neighboring areas like Cambridge and Brookline. These lines were privately operated and expanded rapidly, with over 200 miles of track by the 1880s.
The game-changer came when Boston faced severe traffic congestion from all the streetcars. In 1894 the legislature created the Boston Transit Commission to oversee the development of subways in Boston. This was merged into the Boston Elevated Railway in 1897, which that same year opened the first subway in the United States (the Tremont Street subway).
The system continued evolving with various technologies. The Mattapan Line was converted to streetcar service from steam trains in 1928 and has operated continuously since with a variety of streetcar types.
In 1957, the MTA authorized expansion along the Newton Highlands Branch, with service beginning in 1959 as today's Green Line D Branch. In the 1960s, the rapid transit, streetcar, and subway lines that crisscrossed Boston were consolidated into the MBTA system—the "T".
The MBTA has faced chronic underfunding, leading to aging infrastructure, frequent breakdowns, and service disruptions (e.g., 2015’s “Snowmageddon” exposed system vulnerabilities). Recent efforts focus on modernization, like new Red and Orange Line trains (2018–present) and fare system upgrades (AFC 2.0).
The Green Line Extension to Somerville and Medford (2022) was a major milestone, serving over 50,000 daily riders. Plans for electrification of commuter rail and further expansions (e.g., South Coast Rail) continue, though funding and political hurdles persist.
What's remarkable is that Boston's Green Line today still uses much of that original 1897 subway infrastructure, making it a living piece of American transportation history that commuters use daily.