Like most large cities in the United States, there existed a large network of streetcars in Cleveland in the late 19th and early 20th century. The city's first horsecar line began operation in 1860. Cleveland hosted the first electric streetcar line in the United States, opened in 1884, though this initial service would prove unsuccessful. Electrification was again initiated in 1888 with more permanence, and a small system of cable cars was established the following year. Initially formed from several distinct operators, the streetcar system was consolidated under one private company, the Cleveland Railway, in 1910 after attempts to form a municipal system failed. The Peter Witt streetcar was developed for use in the city. Streetcar service ended in 1954 as a result of the plan to build what would become the rapid transit Red Line across Cleveland, which would have feeder services provided by buses.
Cleveland additionally served as a hub of interurban lines with remnants of the network still in operation as part of RTA Rapid Transit. The subject of streetcars in Cleveland primarily addresses traction operations which ran directly on city streets and interacted with other road traffic, whereas the modern light rail lines are descendant from a system which had significant dedicated right of way.
The first horsecar line to operate in the city was the East Cleveland Railway Company; traffic was begun on September 4, 1860. The Kinsman Street line was completed in quick succession. That year, the original franchise was extended on Euclid from Willson west to Case, thence to Prospect, also from Case to Sterling Avenue to Prospect. Several additional street railway companies were chartered over the next decades.
On July 26, 1884 a transformation took place when the first electric streetcar in America was operated in the Cleveland over a mile of track. The installation utilized the Bentley-Knight system, wherein current was carried on underground conductors laid in conduits between the tracks, owing to popular objections to overhead wires. Power was generated from a Brush arc light machine in the Euclid Avenue car barns. Tracks were of old strap rail variety laid on wooden stringers. Safety issues plagued the electrical system, especially during rain and snow. Operations lasted less than a year, with runs replaced by horsecars.
Consolidation began in 1885 when the city council authorized the Woodland Avenue and the West Side Street Railway Companies to merge. A new electric line was installed in 1888, which included more conventional overhead line powering cars via a trolley pole. Most lines had been electrified by 1891. In 1893 a grand consolidation took place, when the Cleveland City Railway Company and the competing Cleveland Electric Railway Company were both authorized. These were popularly known as the "Big Consolidated" and "Little Consolidated".
When the Cleveland City Cable Company organized in 1889, the right to use a cable was granted by the council. It began service on December 18 the following year along Superior Street. Interurban services in Cleveland began on October 26, 1895 when the Akron, Bedford and Cleveland Railroad began running from Akron, entering the city via the Cleveland Electric Railway line in Newburg. The cable car line on Payne Avenue ceased service on January 20, 1901, ending Cleveland's use of the mode.
The streetcar strike of 1899 featured over half of the year marked with rioting and violence in the city as employees of the Big Consolidated sought to unionize, demanding better conditions. The strike began on June 10; Cleveland City Railway hired strikebreakers to continue service, but the Holmden barns were attacked in a riot on June 20. An apparent end came on June 25 as most of the strikers were rehired and service was resumed on the former schedules, though strikers would continue to attack tracks and trolleys in the following weeks. State troopers were called in on July 21 to quell rioting as a string of bombings began which would last for five days. Management made its intent clear to hire individuals not under union contracts. The strike was mostly broken by the end of the month and troops were withdrawn from Cleveland, though some violence and bombings continued through the year.
The two streetcar systems were eventually merged in 1900 forming the Cleveland Electric Railway Company. This merger began the Great Street Car War. Soon after, Tom L. Johnson was elected mayor with the pronouncement of a three cent streetcar fare. Streetcar fares had initially been set at five cents, an amount kept fairly static (except for a time in the late 1870s when the West Side line was authorized to charge a six cent fare or twenty for a dollar). Then followed in quick succession injunctions, the organizing of "low fare" companies, who were given grants as rapidly as the old franchises expired, midnight deals, and other questionable business practices. In 1903, the two private companies were consolidated into the Cleveland Electric Railway Company. Subsequent elections strengthened the position of the mayor until a day of free rides in 1907 was followed by a strike of streetcar men. Financial distress had become apparent and a Federal court appointed receivers. Voters refused to sustain new grants at a referendum election. Finally, Judge Tayler of the United States District Court consented to act as arbiter, preparing a comprehensive settlement which would be known as the "Tayler Plan", which was accepted by the voters in 1910. Fares were set at three cents, with one penny for a transfer.
That year, the Cleveland Electric Railway Company would merge with the Municipal Traction Company and form the Cleveland Railway. When Peter Witt was appointed street railway commissioner, the primary issue with the streetcar network was severe congestion without the possibility of improving headways. He implemented an improved skip-stop scheme and acquired additional rolling stock which was intended to increase capacity. A more effective solution was found in a new car design of Witt's specifications which featured both a front and middle car door. The design allowed passengers the option to pay either as they entered the car at the front or before they alighted from the middle door â this significantly reduced queuing and dwell times at stops. The new style of streetcar, introduced in 1914, would go on to be utilized by several worldwide streetcar systems and continues to be referred to by the designer's name: the Peter Witt streetcar. Ridership peaked in 1926. The company converted a few streetcar lines after 1936, but the onset of World War II temporarily stopped any further conversions.
In 1942, the Cleveland Transit System took over the operation of all streetcar, bus and trackless trolley lines from the Cleveland Railway. Ridership even ballooned to the point that the system began planning upgrades. CTS sought to update their aging streetcar fleet and ordered 75 new PCC streetcars for service. Plans would evolve to concentrate on new subway construction and consultants recommended closing the streetcar system, citing low capacity. Following the war, CTS undertook a program of replacing all existing streetcar lines with either trackless trolleys or buses. The lightly-used PCC's were sold to the Toronto Transit Commission in 1953, leaving Peter Witt cars to finish service in Cleveland.
The last CTS streetcar ran on January 24, 1954 with a free ride celebration on the Madison line from Public Square to West 65th and Bridge.
By 2023, there were very few traces of the system remaining. The substation on Larchmont Boulevard had been converted to commercial space. Trolley poles along Fairmount Boulevard have been repurposed for streetlights, with some still featuring Cleveland Railway Company medallions.
The following table lists the electric streetcar routes of Cleveland.