Yelloway-Pioneer System Explained
| YellowaY-Pioneer System |
| Founded: | by Oliver William Townsend,[1] Wesley E. Travis[2] |
| Founding Companies: | California Transit Company, Cornhusker Stage, Yelloway of Michigan, |
| Service Area: | United States |
| Service Type: | Intercity bus service |
| Routes: | Los Angeles - Philadelphia - New York |
The Yelloway-Pioneer System (sometimes styled YellowaY-Pioneer) was a group of independently-owned intercity bus companies that operated the first transcontinental bus route in the United States.[3] [4]
Proposed in early 1927,[3] the first transcontinental bus trip took place in 1928.[4] The initial route ran from Los Angeles, California to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In September 1928, the route was extended from Philadelphia to New York City.[3] The first Los Angeles to New York City trip was completed on September 11, 1928, covered 3,433 highway miles, and took 5 days and 14 hours to travel.[3]
Also in 1928, the American Motor Transportation Company purchased most of the YellowaY member firms.[5]
In February 1929, the Motor Transit Corporation (which became Greyhound Corporation later that year) bought the Yelloway-Pioneer System for $6.4 m million.[6]
Further reading
- Hixson, Kenneth (2001). Pick of the Litter. Lexington: Centerville Book Company. .
- Jackson, Carlton (1984). Hounds of the Road. Dubuque: Kendall Hunt Publishing Company. .
- Meier, Albert, and John Hoschek (1975). Over the Road. Upper Montclair, NJ (US): Motor Bus Society. No ISBN.
- Schisgall, Oscar (1985). The Greyhound Story. Chicago: J.G. Ferguson Publishing Company. .
- Motor Coach Age (a publication of the Motor Bus Society), various issues, especially these:
July–August 1990;
March–April 1991;
April–June 1995;
October–December 1996;
October–December 1998.
- Backfire, the corporate newspaper for the Southeastern Greyhound Lines, all issues, from January 1938 through February 1956.
Notes and References
- Web site: Greyhound Bus Badges . transitbadges.com . 17 July 2020 . en . 18 November 2017.
- Web site: Greyhound Bus Badges . transitbadges.com . 17 July 2020 . en . 18 November 2017 . First purchasing the companies of the Pioneer Yelloway System (a large regional network whose owner, Wesley E. Travis, had inaugurated the first transcontinental bus service.
- Business & Finance: Yelloway-Pioneer . 17 July 2020 . Time . TIME USA, LLC . 24 September 1928.
- Web site: The Yelloway Merger . Greyhound History . 17 July 2020 . “Jitney into Giant,” Fortune, vol. X, no. 2 (August 1934).
- Web site: Greyhound Bus Badges . transitbadges.com . 17 July 2020 . en . 18 November 2017 . In 1928 Townsend sold some of his operating rights to the newly formed American Motor Transportation Company, based in Oakland, California. This company went on to buy out most of the other independent YellowaY member firms, and operated them as the YellowaY-Pioneer System.
- Web site: Greyhound Bus Badges . transitbadges.com . 17 July 2020 . en . 18 November 2017 . In 1929 the Motor Transit Corporation (which became The Greyhound Corporation later that year) bought the Yelloway-Pioneer System for $6.4 million. The February 15, 1929, edition of The Daily Notes from Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, reported the story: “Consolidation of the Yelloway lines and ‘the Greyhound lines, bus companies, with a combined investment of more than $12,000,000, was announced here today by O. S. Caesar, president of the Motor Transit corporation, and W. F. Travis, president of the American Motor Transportation company. Tho two lines will be united under the name of the American Motor Transit corporation, to form the largest long distance bus transportation system in the country, officials said.”.
