Sun Metro provides public transportation services to residents of El Paso, Texas. The company operates 159 Fixed Route Vehicles, 54 LIFT vehicles and serves more than 13 million passengers a year. Sun Metro also operates a large natural gas fueled fleet, which at one time was one of the world s largest operating mass transit fleets. The company traces its roots to Sun City Area Transit which was founded in 1977 when the city of El Paso bought out the three existing public transit lines: El Paso City Lines, Lower Valley Lines and Country Club Bus Lines. In 1987, El Pasoans approved a one-half cent tax increase dedicated to funding transit within the El Paso city limits. At that time, the transit system was changed from Sun City Area Transit to Sun Metro.