1970: The Rock Island County Metropolitan Mass Transit District was established for the purpose of putting new life and new sources of funds into the local transit network. 

1983: The formerly operated Quad City Transit Facility was constructed in Rock Island, Illinois to maintain and store the bus fleets of MetroLINK and Davenport CitiBus. 

1988: A public contest was held and resulted in the replacement of "RICMMTD" with "MetroLINK" to improve name recognition. 

1992: Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) paratransit service was established. 

1998: MetroLINK began operating the Channel Cat passenger ferry boat service on the Mississippi River. 

1998: Centre Station, MetroLINK's premier transportation center, opened in downtown Moline.

2002: MetroLINK began operating its first Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles powered with John Deere engines. 

2006: Construction was completed on East Pointe Station, a passenger facility in East Moline aimed at connecting riders and routes on the east end of MetroLINK's fixed-route service area.

2008: MetroLINK branded itself as the corporate entity for the Mass Transit District, with its fixed-route system renamed as simply "Metro."

2012: The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) names MetroLINK as the "Outstanding Public Transportation System of the Year" for systems carrying 1-4 million passengers annually.

2014: District Station, a passenger facility constructed as part of a transit-oriented development in downtown Rock Island, opened to riders. 

2014: MetroLINK completed construction on its state-of-the-art Operations and Maintenance Center within Rock Island's Columbia Park redevelopment area. 

2015: Construction was completed on the Metro Mega Stop at SouthPark Mall. 

2016: MetroLINK completed its new Riverbend Commons Channel Cat ferryboat landing along Ben Butterworth Parkway in Moline. 

2018: MetroLINK deployed its first three (3) all-electric zero emission buses into service.