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Many local political leaders invested in competing lines or made their franchise grants on the basis of kickbacks from investors. As Milwaukee’s population and geographical size grew due to its burgeoning international wheat trade, streetcar franchise competition became fierce. Like other cities, Milwaukee charged for and regulated their installation by granting or denying special franchises to streetcar companies. Rails were permanent but private fixtures on public thoroughfares. This service thrived in no small part because it coincided with the increase in national and intercity railroad passenger and freight travel and the need to move soldiers during the Civil War. These horse-drawn rail cars ran on permanent tracks set flush with the street surface and spaced the same distance as traditional horse-cart wheels. In 1860, George Walker, one of the city’s founders and early mayors, introduced the first streetcars on public roads.
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Omnibus businesses succeeded by overcoming the challenges of climate-and mud-primarily due to the invention of private tollways called “plank roads” these were dirt roads lined with wheel-spaced boards to create a relatively smooth surface over uneven and muddy terrain. Prior to Milwaukee’s incorporation in 1846, regional mass transit consisted of private horse-drawn omnibuses on unpaved roads.
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These forces included changes in available and economically viable technologies, advocates for public versus private ownership, and conflicting views regarding which level of government-municipal, county, or state-was most appropriate to oversee transit services. According to transit historian Zachary Schrag, mass transit “generally refers to scheduled intra-city service on a fixed route in shared vehicles.” Since 1860, opposing political and economic forces significantly shaped the provision of transit in the Milwaukee metropolitan region.