La Crosse's first street car company was the La Crosse Street Railway Company, which began service on July 4, 1879. In June 1881, the City Street Railway Company was organized. The two companies merged in 1885 and were then known as the La Crosse City Railway Company. Horse drawn cars were replaced with electric trolley cars in 1890. On February 10, 1913, the Wisconsin Light and Power Company, under the direction of its president, Clement C. Smith, purchased the streetcar lines in La Crosse. The company continued operation of the streetcar lines and changed its name to the Mississippi Valley Public Service Company in 1926.
Between the years 1929 and 1945, the Mississippi Valley Public Service Company gradually replaced the streetcars with motorized passenger buses. The company removed old tracks and ties on many streets as buses came into use. Old car barns at 601 N. 3rd Street were remodeled to accommodate the new buses.
Ray M. Fey, his sons and Andrew G. Anderson purchased the Mississippi Valley Public Service Company on Jan. 1, 1949, and changed its name to the La Crosse Transportation Company.
Privately owned bus companies such as the Mississippi Valley Public Service Company provided bus transportation in the city until 1975. In 1974, the city of La Crosse received a grant to purchase the bus transit system. As of Jan. 2, 1975, the La Crosse Transit Company became a public utility owned by the city of La Crosse.
