A ES&SR train passing through the "subway" under the Southern Pacific track on Macdonald Avenue.
The system's initial line was built between Point Richmond and the Southern Pacificdepot and opened on July28, 1904.[1] The extension to the Alameda County line opened on April29, 1905,[2] though the streetcar tracks did not directly cross the Southern Pacific main line. This forced riders to cross the tracks on foot and transfer to another car to make the complete trip. This setup would persist until April 1909 when an underpass was installed to take Macdonald Avenue under the tracks and connecting the two sections of the line.[3] The Stege branch opened in July 1905.[4] The East Shore and Suburban was merged into the San Francisco-Oakland Terminal Railways Company along with the Key System and Oakland Traction Company in 1912, consolidating most streetcar operations in the East Bay.[5]
Service was replaced by buses beginning on August1, 1932, with the conversion of the East Richmond/23rd Street line to buses. Lines were converted to buses one at a time with the last remaining line being in November 1933.[6][7] Fares were originally 5 cents and were raised to 7 cents ($1.65 in 2023) over time at the time of the last runs.[8]
References
^"Busy Point Richmond". Oakland Enquirer. Oakland, California. July 29, 1904. p. 7. Retrieved December 7, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Richmond car are running". The Berkeley Gazette. Berkeley, California. May 2, 1905. p. 3. Retrieved December 7, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Railroad fence no longer exists". The San Francisco Call. San Francisco, California. May 19, 1909. p. 9. Retrieved December 7, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
