History
The system started out Gary & Interurban Railway Company, a subsidiary of the Chicago – New York Electric Air Line Railroad. Founded in 1908, it operated streetcars and interurban trains throughout Gary and its neighboring suburbs and cities. In 1923, the company was acquired by Samuel Insull's Midland Utilities. By that point, Insull held a virtual monopoly over electrically powered public transit throughout northern Illinois, north Indiana and southwest Wisconsin. However, when Insull's fortunes fell in the wake of the Great Depression, Gary Railways Company was sold off to Chicago & Calumet District Transit Company, which made it a subsidiary.
During the 1940s, the streetcar service was gradually replaced with buses. In 1956, the city and interurban buses were split into Gary Transit Inc. and Gary Intercity Lines Inc, respectively. While Gary Intercity Lines ended its services in 1971, Gary Transit lasted until 1975, when it was reorganized into Gary Public Transit Corporation.
At that point, Gary Public Transportation Company became the operator of the newly created Hammond Transit System. It was forced to cede the service to Hammond Yellow Coach Lines after a judge determined that the company could not operate a system outside Gary city limits. GPTC limited its operations to Gary until 1990, when it inaugurated new express bus routes that originated in downtown Gary and reached into Hammond, East Chicago, Merrillville and Crown Point.
In 2010, Northwest Indiana Public Development Authority announced that it would not provide GTPC any of the funding it provided over the past few years unless the agency signs a memorandum of understanding that signified its willingness to consolidate its operations under Northwest Indiana Regional Bus Authority. GTPC officials voted against the move on July 2010. The agency was unable to fill the funding funding gap, forcing it to cut routes and decrease service frequencies. The agency is currently contemplating increasing fares and eliminating Saturday service to make up for the budget shortfall.
Read more about this topic: Gary Public Transportation Corporation
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