HouTran was a

public transportation Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whi ...

company that served the

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

area. While its last iteration was publicly owned by the City of Houston, it was privately owned throughout the vast majority of its existence. Throughout several name changes and ownership acquisitions, the company's modes of operation ranged from mule-drawn streetcars to electrified

streetcar A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include s ...

s, and finally to

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

ses. In 1979, it was succeeded by the

Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) is a major public transportation agency based in Houston, Texas, United States. It operates bus, light rail, bus rapid transit, HOV and HOT lanes, and paratransit service (under the nam ...

, a state-authorized local

transit authority A transit district or transit authority is a government agency or a public-benefit corporation created for the purpose of providing public transportation within a specific region. A transit district may operate bus, rail or other types of t ...

, when it was purchased by that agency as the basis for its then new transit system.

History

Original charter & horsecar operation

The company's origins can be traced back to 1870, when the company was chartered as the Houston City Street Railway Company with J.H. Scanlan as President. However, it was not until June 24, 1871 that the

Houston City Council The Houston City Council is a city council for the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas. The Council has sixteen members: eleven from council districts and five elected at-large. The members of the Council are elected every four years, wi ...

passed an ordinance that granted the company

right-of-way A right of way (also right-of-way) is a specific route that people, animals, vehicles, watercraft, or utility lines travel, or the legal status that gives them the right to do so. Rights-of-way in the physical sense include controlled-access h ...

. Despite the grant, it was not until 1874 that it began operations as a mule-driven streetcar company. The company's original line ran from Union Station that was operated by

International–Great Northern Railroad The International – Great Northern Railroad (I&GN) was a railroad that operated in the U.S. state of Texas. It was created on September 30, 1873, when the International Railroad and the Houston and Great Northern Railroad merged. The railr ...

to the Houston and Texas Central Station. In 1877, the company's assets included three miles of track, fourteen streetcars, and about 100 mules.

Electrified streetcar conversion, expansion, & reorganization

By 1890, the company owned fifty miles of track, fifty streetcars, and 300 horses. That year, the company and its sole competitor Bayou City Street Railway Company that had begun operation the year prior were acquired by Oscar Martin Carter, effectively merging the companies. Martin was president of the Omaha and South Texas Land Company, which had purchased the land to develop the

Houston Heights Houston Heights (often referred to simply as "The Heights") is a community in northwest-central Houston, Texas, United States. "The Heights" is often referred to colloquially to describe a larger collection of neighborhoods next to and includin ...

. The first suburb of Houston was too far to walk, and thus control of the public transportation system in Houston was critical to making the community work. Thus, both Carter, and Omaha and South Texas Land Company's director Daniel Denton Cooley are credited with having founded the Heights. In 1891, the company began using electric

s based on technology invented by the

Thomson-Houston Electric Company The Thomson-Houston Electric Company was a manufacturing company that was one of the precursors of General Electric. History The company began as the American Electric Company, founded by Elihu Thomson and Edwin Houston. In 1882, Charles Al ...

, and fully converted from mule-driven cars by the following year. The Houston City Street Railway Company was placed in

receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver – a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights" – especia ...

on March 1, 1894. The company was foreclosed upon and sold on May 6, 1896, then officially reorganized as the Houston Electric Street Railway Company on September 1, 1896. However, this format was short-lived. In July 1900, a committee was formed with a plan to reorganize again. The company was placed back in receivership on May 28, 1901. Under another foreclosure, it was reorganized as the Houston Electric Company on October 26, 1901, and purchased as a wholly owned subsidiary by the

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

-based engineering company

Stone & Webster Stone & Webster was an American engineering services company based in Stoughton, Massachusetts. It was founded as an electrical testing lab and consulting firm by electrical engineers Charles A. Stone and Edwin S. Webster in 1889. In the earl ...

on November 1, 1901. It would retain this name and general direction for the next several decades. On July 5, 1903, the Houston Electric Company developed and opened a park named "Highland Park" to encourage ridership on its Houston Avenue line. The park property was leased to property managers who would then operate the facility. It was sold to the city to become a municipal park in 1911, and its name was changed to Woodland Park in 1914. Woodland Park is still in existence in Woodland Heights.

Introduction of buses & change of direction

In 1924, the first bus, used on Austin Street, was incorporated into the Houston Electric Street Company's system. By 1925, two more bus lines, one to the East End, were added. Over time, buses continued to replace the streetcar until June 1940 when the entire system was converted to bus service. In 1946, having discontinued electric streetcar service, the company appropriately changed their name from Houston Electric Company to Houston Transit Company. In 1961, Houston Transit Company was acquired by new owners and renamed Rapid Transit Lines. Rapid Transit Lines was acquired by

National City Lines National City Lines, Inc. (NCL) was a public transportation company. The company grew out of the Fitzgerald brothers' bus operations, founded in Minnesota, United States, in 1920 as a modest local transport company operating two buses. Part of th ...

in 1966. In 1974, the City of Houston acquired Rapid Transit Lines from Houston Transit Company.

History

Original charter & horsecar operation

Electrified streetcar conversion, expansion, & reorganization

Introduction of buses & change of direction

References

Further reading