Public transportation arrived in Chattanooga way back on September 4, 1875, when the entire city turned out to see the first horse-drawn trolley cars, which ran up Market Street from the Tennessee River to what is now Martin Luther King Boulevard.

Electric streetcars replaced the horse-drawn trolley cars in 1889. Both streetcars and motor buses were used until 1941, when Southern Coach Lines took control of transit activities. The last streetcar line was discontinued shortly after the end of World War II.

Since purchasing the assets of Southern Coach Lines in 1973 and creating the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority (CARTA), the 11-member Board of Directors, representing communities which the authority serves, has guided public transit in the Chattanooga area to a point where, today, CARTA has a worldwide reputation for innovation and excellence.