Chattanooga's 138-year public transportation heritage is a complex and
colorful conglomeration of some 32 companies that were initially
comprised of horse-drawn streetcar lines. They were later upgraded to
electric traction operations, steam dummy lines, and finally to the
motor-coach buses of today. Chattanooga's transit story has been unique
from its inception. Few cities have had any connection to the incline
railways that were constructed in this mountainous city, one of which,
the famous Lookout Mountain Incline Railway, is still in daily
operation. Today's CARTA transit system has innovated one of the largest
fleets of battery-operated electric buses, which other transit companies
use as their model for comparison.