The company was originally formed in 1887, under the name Bakersfield and Sumner Railroad.
At its height, in 1915, the company operated five streetcar lines, totaling 10.5 miles (16.9 km).
It also operated three feeder bus lines, one of the first companies in the nation to offer that type of service.
So in the same year, a franchise was granted by the city for the construction of a streetcar line.
In 1888, they constructed a single track railroad between the Courthouse in Bakersfield with the Southern Pacific Train Station.
The company was named the Bakersfield and Sumner Railroad and used horse drawn cars on 16-pound rails, which were previously used in a mine.
The underlying ballast was substandard, and during heavy rain the cars would sink into the street or derail.
The company began work on constructing a hydroelectric power plant at the base of the Kern River Canyon.
With electricity being provided in a large enough quantity, the company began electrifying the line.
In preparation for heavier cars, the rails were upgraded to 36-pound girder type (which was previously used in Australia).
One year later, the company began making plans for an ambitious expansion.
Although some of these routes would be realigned or extended, this made up the basic streetcar system used in the city for the next 20 years.
The route started at the intersection of 19th Street and Chester Avenue and traversed the entire system.
That same year, ordinances were passed by the city, which restricted where they could operate, so they would not be a direct competitor to the streetcar company.
The Bakersfield and Kern Electric Railway also started running its own feeder bus service, to connect the outlying areas with the streetcar line.
It was decided to abandon the Oak Street location and move operations back to the Union Avenue facilities.
By the end, the only streetcar route that would operate was the original Santa Fe and Southern Pacific Line.
It also continued to use the name Bakersfield and Kern Electric Railway, even though none of the system was operated by rail.
The following year, after approval by the voters, the city purchased the bus system for $395,000.
[11] Little information is known about the horse drawn cars that operated before the line was electrified.