[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 67 (Friday, April 29, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E630]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                IN HONOR OF THE MONTEREY SALINAS TRANSIT

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, April 29, 2016

  Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Monterey Salinas 
Transit, located in Monterey, California, where the history of 
California state government began.
   April 30, 2016 marks the 125th anniversary of the start of public 
transportation in Monterey County. On this date in 1891, the Monterey & 
Pacific Grove Street Railway system started service with horse drawn 
street cars operating on a series of rails laid in the existing road 
network. The rail network connected the world famous Del Monte Hotel, 
now the home of the world famous Naval Postgraduate School, through the 
Oak Grove neighborhood to downtown Monterey and the Presidio of 
Monterey via Del Monte Avenue to Alvarado, Munras, and Tyler Avenues. 
Those first transit passengers could continue on Lighthouse Avenue 
through New Monterey and end their journey at 17th street in downtown 
Pacific Grove. That first day of operation coincided with a visit from 
the 23rd President of the United States, Benjamin Harrison, who rode in 
a parade from Pacific Grove to the Del Monte Hotel.
   The horse drawn streetcars ran for ten years until 1901 when they 
were replaced by an all electric powered street car fleet operated by 
the Monterey Gas & Electric Company in 1903. Electric streetcars ran in 
Monterey and what is now Seaside in a variety of forms through 1921, 
when the Monterey & Pacific Grove Railway was abandoned because it was 
unable to compete with more cost effective rubber-wheeled, internal 
combustion engine powered buses operated by the Bay Rapid Transit 
Company.
   For the next 50 years, Bay Rapid Transit operated buses until the 
Monterey Peninsula Public Transit joint powers agency took over public 
operation of the transit system in September 1974. In July 1981, the 
MPT took over public transit operations for the City of Salinas forming 
the Monterey-Salinas Transit joint powers agency which eventually 
became the Monterey-Salinas Transit District in July 2010. At that 
time, the MST Board of Directors was expanded to include the cities of 
Gonzales, Greenfield, King City, Sand City and Soledad. MST continued 
to grow and passengers can now connect to neighboring Santa Cruz, Santa 
Clara and San Luis Obispo counties.
   One hundred and twenty five years later, Monterey-Salinas Transit 
buses and its wirelessly powered electric trolley continue to operate 
along the original routes of the first horse drawn street cars. And, 
MST continues to provide the same level of exceptional service and 
value to everyone who lives, works or visits the beautiful Monterey Bay 
region that riders of yesteryear experienced. With ridership of 4.5 
million passengers a year, MST is a regional transportation asset that 
continues to innovate and provide exceptional value and service for the 
next one hundred twenty five years.

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