CTtransit (styled as CT transit) is a bus system serving much of the U.S. state of Connecticut and is a division of that state's Department of Transportation. CTtransit provides bus service via contract providers for seven different metropolitan areas in the state, mostly concentrated in Hartford and New Haven counties. CTtransit began operations in 1976. History HNS Management, Inc., is the principal operator of CTtransit service in the greater Hartford, New Haven, and Stamford areas. They are the second largest public transit system in New England with a total fleet of over 400 buses and over 27 million customers served each year. HNS employs nearly 980 bus operators, maintenance employees, and administrative personnel; the company administers an annual operating budget of over $100 million. CTtransit is owned by, and management reports to staff of, the Connecticut Department of Transportation, Bureau of Public Transportation. Early history Public transportation in Connecticut dates back to the 19th Century, with the introduction of horse-drawn trolley lines in many towns across the state. In 1901, the Connecticut Railway and Lighting Company was formed to operate and extend electric powered trolley services. These operations were leased to the Consolidated Railway Company in 1906 and, a year later, merged with the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. In 1910, the New Haven Railroad formally sublet all of its street railway operations to the Connecticut Company, and service continued to expand throughout the next two decades. By 1924, the Connecticut Company operated some 1,640-passenger cars over a network of 834 miles of trolley track. Both the New Haven Railroad and Connecticut Company suffered financial setbacks during the Depression years. In 1936, the Connecticut Railway and Lighting Company (CR&L) returned to the transit business, having petitioned the Federal courts for restoration of its original transit property when Connecticut Company was not able to maintain lease payments. CR&L operated bus motor coaches on all of its lines. Although the manufacture of transit buses was virtually halted during World War II, new production after the war allowed the Connecticut Company to complete the replacement of all its former trolley lines in 1948. The 1950s inaugurated a period of decline for public transportation nationwide. Suburbanization, increased automobile ownership, public investment in new highway construction, and declining profitability in the transit business led to a vicious circle of rising fares, service cuts, and declining ridership. Following the abandonment of its various local