To serve this expanding population and to augment the Red Cars, a new form of public transportation developed in 1914. "Jitneys," a name coined by a Long Beach newspaper reporter because they charged a jitney or five cents for the ride, were a variety of independent operators running automobiles of all vintages and descriptions. The service was disorganized and uncertain however, and the first ordinance regulating jitney bus traffic was adopted in 1914. It required annual permit renewals, the buses to fully cover their fixed route on every trip, and set a minimum age of 21 for the drivers. Incidentally, the first jitney line franchise in the United States was sold at auction in Long Beach in 1916. During the 1920's, ridership rose dramatically from approximately three million fares in 1920, to 10 million in 1923, and to 18.5 million in 1925!

The ultimate entrepreneurs of their time, Jitney drivers, pose in front of their respective vehicles. These are the Atlantic Avenue Jitneys parked near the intersection of Hill Street and Atlantic Avenue.

Meanwhile, more trolley lines were extended and by 1927, Long Beach had over 30 miles of streetcar tracks offering 30 all-steel, open air cars that seated up to 64 passengers each. As a result of local transportation links to regional and national networks, the development of the harbor in nearby San Pedro, and the discovery of oil just north of town in Signal Hill, Long Beach became one of the fastest growing cities in the country.

	By the turn of the century, Long Beach was thriving with a variety of public transportation systems including the Southern Pacific trains, the Red Cars, Jitneys and, of course, the private automobile.

When the automobile popularity explosion hit Long Beach in the 1930's, ridership and profits on public transportation began to decline. The routes of the early independent bus companies were taken over by the Lang Transportation Company, headquartered in Los Angeles, along with the Red Cars. The Second World War temporarily reversed this trend, but after the war, Lang relinquished ownership to two new companies, Long Beach City Lines, Inc. and Long Beach Motor Bus Company, both owned by National City Lines.