Escambia County Area Transit
Escambia County Area Transit, or ECAT, is the public transportation system of Escambia County.
The roots of ECAT date back to 1884 with public transportation systems like the Pensacola Street Car Company, the Pensacola Terminal Company and the Pensacola Electric Company. As mule-drawn buggies gave way to railcars and eventually buses, the system changed hands several times. In 1945, Pensacola Transit, Inc. purchased the transit system from the Gulf Power Company (the successor of the Pensacola Electric Company) and was itself purchased by the American Transit Corporation (ATC) in 1950.
As ridership declined in the 1950s and 60s, Pensacola Transit threatened to terminate service in December 1968. The City of Pensacola agreed to partial subsidies through June 1969, later extended. City government entered into an Interlocal Agreement with the Escambia County Board of County Commissioners in 1971 to support the transit system, which is still managed by the Pensacola Transit Division of ATC (now a part of multinational Veolia Environnement).
ECAT services 285 miles of routes, including more than 1,500 stops, providing 1.6 million annual passenger trips. The system owns 30 buses and employs around 125 people. The current fare is $1.50
ECAT also operates the Pensacola Beach Trolley, which provides free weekend transportation along Pensacola Beach during the summer season (from Memorial Day weekend through September).
External links
- www.GoECAT.com - official website
