Dept. of Transportation
Metro Transit Division

King Street Center
201 S Jackson St
Seattle, WA 98104
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Milestones 1960s

1960

  • Reversible lanes installed on Mercer Island Floating Bridge.
  • Puget Sound Regional Transportation Study begins to plan new freeway system but rules out rail transit.

1962

  • Voters reject proposal to authorize Metro to plan and operate public transit on September 11.
  • Federal law mandates regional planning for highway funds.
  • Evergreen Point Floating Bridge opens.
  • Seattle Worlds Fair marks the debut of the Monorail.
  • Overlake Transit Service acquires Suburban Transit System and Lake Shore Lines.

Photo of bus - 1962
Photo of bus in front of the Space Needle, 1962
Photo courtesy Washington State Archive, Bellevue Branch.

1963

  • Seattle Transit begins converting trolley coach routes to diesel.

1964

  • Seattle voters reject "COMET" initiative to preserve trackless trolleys on March 10.
  • Congress approves Urban Mass Transportation Administration, or UMTA.

1965

  • Overlake Transit System acquires Greyhound's suburban service to Tacoma, Everett, Auburn and Kent and creates a new company called the Metropolitan Transit Corporation.

1967

  • Twelve Forward Thrust bond issues totaling $815 million unveiled on October 30.

1968

  • Voters pass seven Forward Thrust bonds, but not transit plan, on February 13. The $1.15 billion transit plan included 49 miles of rail serving Ballard, northeast Seattle, Bellevue and Renton.
  • King County voters approve new charter on November 5.

1969

  • Seattle buses stop making change for fares on March 20.

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Updated: Dec. 11, 2002