Near the end of the 19th century, Boston needed to alleviate its heavily congested downtown traffic. The three-phase subway project, completed in about three years, was successful in
reducing the gridlock. It also led to further subway expansion in the 20th century.
In the colonial era, Bostonians relied on walking, horses, horse-drawn carriages and water transportation – including a ferry service begun by Thomas Williams in 1631 from Boston to Chelsea – to conduct activities within their small peninsula and to nearby communities (e.g., Cambridge and Roxbury). As the population and land area of Boston expanded, horse-drawn modes of public transportation emerged. By 1793 stagecoach service had begun from Boston to Cambridge. The stage was followed in the 1820s by the the omnibus — a lengthier version of the stagecoach, but with frequent stops.
A major advance came on March 26, 1856, when the Cambridge Horse Railway Company introduced the first horse-drawn street railway from downtown Boston to Cambridge. No longer did passengers have to endure jouncing travel over rutted and muddy roads. The instant success of this streetcar railway drew numerous competitors. Ridership overall expanded to 13 million in 1860 and about 60 million by 1880.
Henry Whitney
Henry Whitney foresaw the need for further improvements in the system. So he formed the West End Street Railway Company in 1887. He realized that sharing several end-of-line stations with his rivals in the narrow downtown Boston streets promoted congestion. Other inefficiencies included the need to switch to rivals’ tracks and higher than necessary fares.
After acquiring a majority of the common stock in each of his four major competitors, he convinced the Massachusetts Legislature to legalize his virtual monopoly through passage of the West End Consolidation Act of 1887. True to his promise of benefits, passengers enjoyed lowered fares, better routes and expansion of service.…