Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority - History

History

Before the creation of the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, the first bus operations in Buffalo dates back to 1923 under the private operator International Bus Company. The International Railway (also under the same parent company of the International Traction Company) operated the vast network of streetcar routes in Erie and Niagara counties. In 1947 the proposed Niagara Frontier Rapid Transit Commission received ownership of the International Railway Company, and gave way to the creation of the Niagara Frontier Transit System, Incorporated in 1950.

The Niagara Frontier Transit System was replaced by the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority Corp. (NFTA) in 1967, as part of New York State's efforts in the late 1960s and early 1970s at creating public agencies that would oversee the development and continuation of public transportation in a number of key urban areas of the state; other such agencies include the Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority (RGRTA), the Central New York Regional Transportation Authority (Centro), and the Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA). In 1974, the NFTA purchased the street transportation rights from a number of other agencies, starting with the Niagara Falls Municipal Transit System on September 8, 1974, D&F (Dunkirk and Fredonia) Transit on September 15, T-NT (Tonawanda - North Tonawanda) Transit on October 7, Lockport Bus Lines on March 15, 1975, and Grand Island Transit on April 20, 1975.