Like most large cities in the United States, there existed a large network of streetcars in Cleveland in the first half of the 20th century. The streetcar lines in Cleveland, Ohio were operated by the Cleveland Railway, which was formed in 1910 with the merger of two companies. The Cleveland Railway converted a few streetcar lines in the 1930s, but the onset of World War II stopped any further conversions.
In 1942, the Cleveland Transit System took over the operation of all streetcar, bus and trackless trolley lines from the Cleveland Railway. Following the war, CTS undertook a program of replacing all existing streetcar lines with either trackless trolleys or buses.
The last CTS streetcar ran on January 24, 1954 with a free ride celebration on the Madison line from Public Square to West 65th and Bridge.
The following table lists the conversion of the Cleveland streetcar lines to trackless trolleys (or trolleybuses) or buses in reverse chronological order, with the last date of streetcar service, the line name, the modern line number, the type of vehicle replacing the streetcar, and the length of time that lasted. Shuttle lines or "dinkeys" are not included.
| Date | Line | No. | Replaced with | From | Until | Then | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 25, 1954 | Madison | 25 | Bus | January 26, 1954 | Present | — | |
| August 15, 1953 | Clark | 23 | Bus | August 16, 1953 | Present | — | |
| August 15, 1953 | West 25th | 20 | Bus | August 16, 1953 | Present | — | |
| March 20, 1953 | Superior | 3 | Trackless trolley | March 22, 1953 | April 12, 1963 | Bus | |
| March 7, 1953 | East 55th | 16 | Bus | March 8, 1953 | Present | — | |
| June 14, 1952 | Lorain (Public Square to West 140th) | 22 | Trackless trolley | June 15, 1952 | November 14, 1958 | Bus | Also used by the Cleveland, Southwestern and Columbus Railway |
| April 26, 1952 | EuclidSee also
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