[2] PTC was established on January 1, 1940, by the merger of the PRT and several smaller, then-independent transit companies operating in and near the city.

PTC's network also included the Philadelphia trolleybus system, which was much smaller,[3] along with numerous bus lines.

[4] In 1944, during World War II, white PTC workers engaged in a wildcat strike aimed at preventing the promotion of African American employees to conductors and other positions.

The strike ended when President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered troops into the city to run the cars.

SEPTA acquired the Philadelphia Transportation Company in 1968, taking possession of PTC at noon on September 30, 1968.