If the subject of a municipal public transportation system, to link upper and lower Bergamo, had already been discussed prior to the Union of Italy, it was only from 1885 onwards, with the presentation to the Town Council of plans to build a cable railway or “Funicolare” (the need for which was widely accepted), that work began to find solutions.  The cable railway would have shortened that great distance, not solely a physical distance, which had been created between the two areas of the town due to the slipping of the administrative and economic centre of gravity from the upper to the lower part of Bergamo.

A Committee was created, elected by a citizens’ assembly on 31st January 1886, which was made up not only the members of the Chamber of Commerce, two banks (the Banca mutua popolare di Bergamo, and the Banca bergamasca depositi e conti correnti), the Diocesan committee of Stanislao Medolago Albani and the daily newspaper, La gazzetta provinciale di Bergamo.

In June 1886 the civil engineer Alessandro Ferretti, who planned the "funicolare", gave the green light to build the locomotive for the cable railway.  Initial construction estimates of Lire 100,000 had already increased to Lire 320,000 before signature of the agreement.  The work, not without its difficulties, was carried out and successfully completed.  On 20th November 1887, the Funicolare began temporarily to make its trips.

At the ATB headquarters in Bergamo the local transport Museum has been open since 2007: there the history of municipal public transportation system is displayed.