Ever since the first streetcars rumbled through the streets of Seattle in 1884, public transportation in the Puget Sound region has been a wild roller-coaster ride, replete with scandals, triumphs, and momentous turning points. A complete rail transit system crisscrossed the region during the trolley days, only to be dismantled by 1941. After seventy years of turmoil-and traffic congestion-a new system, Sound Transit, arose in its place. The story is not just about trolleys, trains, and buses-it is also about the making and breaking of mayors and the way that Seattle, Tacoma, and Everett developed from the 1880s to today.