History

The first public transportation services in Boston date back to the beginning of the 17th century and the ferry boats linking downtown Boston, which is located on a peninsula, to the mainland.

Since then, the network of services has grown steadily and now comprises various modes of transport, including trams, trolley buses, boats, subways, trains and buses.

In the early 1960s, urban planners set up the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), a public body responsible for unifying, modernizing and operating the existing network in a bid to halt the expansion of automobile traffic.