The Public Service Corporation was formed in 1903, by amalgamating more than 400 gas, electric and transportation companies in New Jersey. Thomas McCarter was named the Corporation's first president and held the position until 1939. During the 1920s, there was a national trend of consolidating and merging smaller utilities into large utility-holding companies. Public Service joined this trend, and by the 1930s had become part of a huge corporation which owned more than 100 utility subsidiaries throughout the Eastern, Central and Southern United States. Internally, Public Service consolidated its gas and electric interests into Public Service Electric and Gas, and its transportation interests into Public Service Coordinated Transport (later Transport of New Jersey). Concerns about the concentration of economic power resulted in federal and state actions requiring the breakup of utilities. In 1943, Public Service once again became a stand-alone company, and was renamed Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G) in 1948. Transportation was a major component of Public Service's early offerings, and at its inception, included ferry and trolley services, as well as elevators for transporting horse carts up the Palisades. In 1916, Public Service provided more than 451 million passenger trips on its trolleys alone. In 1928, Public Service Railway Company and Public Service Transportation Company merged to form Public Service Coordinated Transport