Kansas City once had one of the most extensive streetcar systems in North America. The first street cars in 1870 were horse powered; however, that was changed to electricity in 1908. These street cars had an 87 year run as transportation for the Metro. The last of these 25 streetcar routes (with 700 street cars) was shut down in 1957.

After almost 60 years, Kansas City again has a street car line. The modern Kansas City streetcar line opened to the public in May of 2016. It runs a similar, but shorter, route to the last line that ran when service ended in 1957. There are currently 4 street cars (not 700) in the modern fleet.