The Bridgeport Traction Company was a

streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport a ...

transit company in the area around

Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequo ...

. The company was incorporated in 1893 through the consolidation of the Bridgeport Horse Railroad Company, Bridgeport Railway Company, and the East End Railway Company. The East End Railway Company was established in 1895 as the Bridgeport and West Stratford Horse Railroad Company. The Bridgeport Horse Railroad Company was incorporated in 1864. The Bridgeport Railway Company was formed in 1893. At the time, streetcars were a more affordable form of transportation for those commuting between Bridgeport and Norwalk. Using streetcars to get to their destination was half the price of using the train. In 1899 president Andrew Radel formed a company that was intended to control the world's

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not ...

trade. In 1901, Bridgeport Traction Company was sold to the Connecticut Railway and Lighting Company. From 1906 to 1936, its routes were controlled by the

Connecticut Company The Connecticut Company was the primary electric street railway company in the U.S. state of Connecticut, operating both city and rural trolleys and freight service. It was controlled by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (New Haven), ...

, a subsidiary of the

New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to December 31, 1968. Founded by the merger of ...

which controlled many of the streetcar operators across the state. The leases on the former Connecticut Railway and Lighting Co. routes were voided in 1936 for nonpayment while the New Haven was in receivership. CR&L resumed operation under its own name, and streetcar lines in Bridgeport, Derby, and Waterbury were replaced with buses in 1937.''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', Buses for Bridgeport, February 10, 1937, p. 5 Bus transit operations continued until 1972. The transit franchises were succeeded by the

Greater Bridgeport Transportation Authority Greater Bridgeport Transit (GBT) is a transit service serving the Greater Bridgeport region of the U.S. state of Connecticut. GBT provides local bus service to the cities/towns of Bridgeport, Trumbull, Stratford, Milford, Fairfield, Westp ...

soon after.

References

History of Bridgeport, Connecticut Transportation in Bridgeport, Connecticut Streetcars in Connecticut Defunct Connecticut railroads Defunct public transport operators in the United States Tram, urban railway and trolley companies {{Connecticut-transport-stub