The story
Prior to the formation of MACS, the public transit needs of Fairbanks were served, if at all, mostly by private operators. The longest-lasting of these was University Bus Lines, operated by Paul Greimann, Sr. University Bus Lines primarily provided service to and from Fairbanks, the University of Alaska campus, and Ladd Air Force Base, now Fort Wainwright.
The Fairbanks North Star Borough began exploring the possibilities of offering public transit during the 1970s, when the population and economy of Fairbanks began exploding in conjunction with the construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. Voters in the City of Fairbanks voted in 1976 to allow operation of transit buses by the FNSB over the streets of Fairbanks. The system began operating in 1977 with two routes serving the Fairbanks urban area.
A 1978 study recommended offering service to the outlying areas of the borough, including Ester, Chena Ridge Road, Farmers Loop Road and Goldstream Road. The system expanded to serve North Pole, Salcha and Farmers Loop, Fort Wainwright and other areas of the Fairbanks area. The system now operates 8 routes, and travels over 723,228 miles every year.
From Wikipedia’s article on Metropolitan Area Commuter System, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3