History
The Texas State Legislature authorized the creation of local transit authorities in 1973. In 1978, Houston-area voters created METRO and approved a one-cent sales tax to support its operations. METRO opened for business in January 1979, taking over the bus service run by the City of Houston known as HouTran. HouTran was plagued by outdated equipment, infrequent service, and a route structure which failed to account for Houston's rapid population growth. In 25 years, the Authority has transformed a broken bus fleet into a regional multimodal transportation system.
METRO's service area encompasses 1,285 square miles (3,330 km2) and also serves portions of an eight-county region with its vanpool service; the agency employs about 3,800 people.
Read more about this topic: Metropolitan Transit Authority Of Harris County
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