Sun Tran

Predecessors

According to David Leighton, historian for the Arizona Daily Star newspaper, Sun Tran's history began in 1897 with the organization of the Tucson Street Railway, which by the following year was providing Tucsonans with regular mule-powered streetcar service. Streetcar tracks existed in parts of present-day downtown and to the University of Arizona. Within a few years, lack of profit caused the company to be sold and it was reorganized as Tucson Rapid Transit Co. (TRT). It shortly came under common ownership with Tucson Gas, Electric Light and Power Co.

By 1906, mules were replaced by electricity as the driving force behind the streetcars in Tucson. Four years later, TRT published its intent to increase the amount of track for its electric cars but insufficient money prevented this from occurring. In 1910, TRT owner United States Light and Traction was acquired by the newly formed Federal Light and Traction.

In October 1925, Tucson Rapid Transit Co., having realized that buses were more flexible and economical to run than streetcars and were the future of public transportation in the Old Pueblo, bought the White Star Bus Line. This small bus company would become the basis for TRT's bus service in town. Also around the same time, Roy Laos Sr., noting the lack of transit service to the south and west sides of town founded the Occidental Bus Line to serve these areas. Laos' bus service would later be called Old Pueblo Transit.

In 1930, control of Federal Light and Traction was acquired by Cities Service. On January 1, 1931, Tucson Rapid Transit formally ended all electric streetcar service in town. From this day forward it became strictly a bus company. Five years later, Jacob M. Bingham established the Mountain View Bus Line with one bus. His goal was to provide service to outlying areas that TRT didn't serve but turning a profit or even just paying his bills was difficult and soon enough TRT bought his small enterprise.

During World War II, ridership increased to a large degree, in part due to tire and fuel rationing that was carried out to support the war effort. The secondary reason for the surge was the need for public transportation for workers in the growing defense industry.

After the passage of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, Federal Light and Traction/Cities Service was forced to sell most of their operations. TRT was sold to W. Culver White, John B. Tigrett, A.V. Lindseth and L.A. Tanner. Tucson Gas & Electric was sold in a public offering.

In late 1951, the Hughes Missile Plant (now called Raytheon Missiles & Defense) was finished and was operating with a small number of employees. Competition for ridership to the new factory between Old Pueblo Transit and Tucson Rapid Transit became heated and OPT filed an injunction in court to prevent TRT from providing service for employees. Early the following year, the Arizona Corporation Commission decided against OPT and allowed TRT to also provide bus service to the plant.

Founding

The 1950s and 1960s saw a steady decline in riders for Tucson Rapid Transit. Even a change in ownership in 1965 to American Transit Corp. (and a name change to Tucson Transit Corp.) and the installation of air conditioners seemed to do little for the failing bus service. As a result, in 1969, the City of Tucson acquired TTC, changing the name to the City of Tucson Transit System.

In 1975, a contest was held to give a new name to the bus system, with Benjamin Rios, a 25-year-old University of Arizona architecture student from Mexico, submitting the winning entry: “Sun Tran.” His prize was a $150 portable television.

Three years later, Sun Tran bought its competition the Old Pueblo Transit Co. and the city had but one bus service for riders. The year 1987 saw the opening of the Roy Laos Transit Center at 205 W Irvington Road, and in 1991, the Ronstadt Transit Center opened in downtown, named for historic Tucson business leader Federico José María Ronstadt.

Unification

On January 22, 2009, a regional seamless transit system was unveiled that helps to better unify the various public transit services in and around the Tucson metropolitan area. One change was the renaming of several of the services under the "Sun" moniker: the Sun Tran express bus routes become Sun Express; Van Tran (paratransit) becomes Sun Van, circulator routes in outlying areas become Sun Connect, and RideShare (carpooling) becomes Sun RideShare. Along with this name change comes a new logo and color scheme, replacing the old red, yellow, and white with a blue, yellow, silver, and white livery. The new livery was introduced into service on February 16, 2009, with the addition of 47 new Sun Tran buses and 42 Sun Van (formerly Van Tran) paratransit vehicles to the fleet.

Sun Connect service started on May 4, 2009, under the name Sun Shuttle, with routes that serve the communities of Casas Adobes, Tucson Estates, Ajo, Oro Valley, Rita Ranch, Marana, Avra Valley, Tohono O'odham Nation, Green Valley, and Sahuarita.These transit services are operated by the Regional Transportation Authority of Pima County (RTA).

In 2010, Sun Tran received shipment of its first bus using hybrid technology and two years later Sun Tran's Northwest Bus Facility located at 3920 N. Sun Tran Blvd was completed.

In summer of 2023, Sun Tran released their Comprehensive Operational Analysis, a pseudo bus network redesign that would increase frequency, realigning and extending routes and improving access and quality of service.

Sun Tran

Sun Tran operates 29 regular fixed bus routes. Most routes provide service from 6 am to 11 pm. A few routes provide service until midnight. Sun Tran does not provide overnight service.

Current routes

Sun Express

Sun Trans operates 10 Sun Express routes, which offer limited-stop service on weekdays during peak commute hours.

Current routes

Sun Link

Sun Link is a 3.9 mi (6.28 km) modern streetcar system that travels through the downtown area, connecting the main University of Arizona campus with the Mercado District on the western edge of downtown. Construction began in April 2012, with revenue service beginning in July 2014. The rolling stock is manufactured by Oregon-based United Streetcar.

Sun Link is double-tracked, replacing a single-track configuration previously used by Old Pueblo Trolley (OPT), a volunteer-run heritage streetcar operation, begun in 1993, mainly used by tourists and local patrons (including University of Arizona students) of the numerous small shops, bars and restaurants along the line. The maintenance facility is located just west of the OPT car barn and yard on 8th Street west of 4th Avenue. OPT last ran on October 31, 2011, when service was suspended for Sun Link construction; the plan was for Old Pueblo Trolley to share operations, trackage and stations with Sun Link, but no date has yet been set for OPT service to resume.

Sun Shuttle

Sun Tran operates 10 Sun Shuttle routes, which connect outlying neighborhoods to Sun Tran and Sun Express service. As of 2024, service in Ajo is operated by Ajo Transportation.

Sun Van

Sun Van is a paratransit service that offers alternative transportation for riders that are unable to use fixed-route buses because of a disability. Trips must be reserved 1-7 days in advance. In 2022, Sun Tran launched an app that allows riders to track their reserved shuttle in real time.

All fares have been free since March 2020. Previously, the base fare was $1.75 and reduced fare was $0.75. The express bus fare was $2.35. No fares had applied to kids under 6 with fare-paying rider, limit 3. All fares used to be paid with a SunGo smart card, which can be loaded with cash value or passes. 24-hour passes & 30-day tickets were available. The University of Arizona provided discounted passes for eligible students, faculty and staff through the UA's Parking and Transportation Services.

Sun Tran has an active fleet of 126 buses. In 2008, Sun Tran signed a contract with Gillig to purchase 119 biodiesel buses. This was done to avoid the need to expand CNG fueling capacity at its depot. However, Sun Tran plans to replace all diesel buses with CNG buses by FY26.