AC Transit is an innovative, modern bus system, owned by the public of the East Bay. Its family tree dates back to 1869…the year America's two coasts were joined by the transcontinental railroad with the driving of the golden spike. In the same year, 1869, the Suez Canal opened, linking the Mediterranean with the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. That's the year when AC Transit's first predecessor began carrying passengers from the Jack London Waterfront into burgeoning Oakland in a horse-drawn rail car.