On Sept. 22, 1873, public transit debuted in Los Angeles when Charles Dupuy opened his Pioneer Omnibus Street Line. The line’s horse-drawn vehicles, which resembled miniature railroad cars on large, wooden wheels, followed a regular schedule and a fixed route — a first in Los Angeles.

For nearly two years the Pioneer line’s buses moved riders between the historic Plaza located by today’s Olvera Street and Washington Gardens, a popular beer garden, and fairground located far south of the central city at Washington and Main.

But muddy streets pocked with holes plagued the line, which closed in 1875.