The Chicago Motor Coach Company was founded in 1917 by John D. Hertz to provide Chicago's first bus transportation services, primarily in places where streetcars were not able to travel. The company grew rapidly and was purchased by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) in 1952. It operated only motor coaches, whereas the larger Chicago Surface Lines and successor CTA also operated trolley coaches.
John D. Hertz founded the Chicago Motor Coach Company in 1917 to run bus transport services in Chicago. [1] During the period that he was running this company he was actively involved with many other transport businesses, including taxicab operation, taxicab manufacture, car rental and the manufacture of coaches and later cars.
He then formed the Yellow Coach Manufacturing Company in 1923 as a subsidiary of the Yellow Cab Company to manufacture buses, many of which were used by the Chicago Coach Company. [2] Hertz sold a majority interest in the Yellow Coach Manufacturing Company to General Motors in 1925 and then the balance in 1943.
By the mid-1920s, the Chicago Coach Company operated with 423 buses and 1,800 employees serving 134 street miles within the city.
In 1952, the company was purchased by the Chicago Transit Authority. [1]
Additionally, there is a Chicago Motor Coach, Inc. [3] that operates in the Chicago area separate from the original company. [4]
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry many passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type is the single-deck rigid bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses while coaches are used for longer-distance services. Many types of buses, such as city transit buses and inter-city coaches, charge a fare. Other types, such as elementary or secondary school buses or shuttle buses within a post-secondary education campus do not charge a fare. In many jurisdictions, bus drivers require a special licence above and beyond a regular driving licence.
GMC (formerly the General Motors Truck Company, or the GMC Truck & Coach Division, is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors that primarily focuses on trucks and utility vehicles. GMC currently makes SUVs, pickup trucks, vans, and light-duty trucks, catered to a premium-based market. In the past, GMC also produced fire trucks, ambulances, heavy-duty trucks, military vehicles, motorhomes, transit buses, and medium duty trucks.
The Flxible Co. was an American manufacturer of motorcycle sidecars, funeral cars, ambulances, intercity coaches and transit buses, based in the U.S. state of Ohio. It was founded in 1913 and closed in 1996. The company's production transitioned from highway coaches and other products to transit buses over the period 1953–1970, and during the years that followed, Flxible was one of the largest transit-bus manufacturers in North America.
The General Motors streetcar conspiracy refers to convictions of General Motors (GM) and other companies that were involved in monopolizing the sale of buses and supplies to National City Lines (NCL) and its subsidiaries, and to allegations that the defendants conspired to own or control transit systems, in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust act. The suit created lingering suspicions that the defendants had in fact plotted to dismantle streetcar systems in many cities in the United States as an attempt to monopolize surface transportation.
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the operator of mass transit in Chicago, Illinois, and some of its surrounding suburbs, including the trains of the Chicago 'L' and CTA bus service.
The Hertz Corporation, a subsidiary of Hertz Global Holdings, Inc., is an American car rental company based in Estero, Florida, that operates approximately 12,000 corporate and franchisee locations, both domestically and internationally. As one of the largest worldwide vehicle rental companies by sales, locations, and fleet size, Hertz operates in 160 countries in North America, Europe, Latin America, Africa, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, the Middle East and New Zealand. The Hertz Corporation also owns Firefly Car Rental, and the former Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, which is now separated into the Thrifty Car Rental and Dollar Rent A Car brands.
There are many yellow cab taxicab operators around the world. The original Yellow Cab Company, based in Chicago, Illinois, was one of the largest taxicab companies in the United States.
The Yellow Cab Company was a taxicab company in Chicago which was founded in 1907 by John D. Hertz.
The Yellow Cab Manufacturing Company was established in 1920 by John D. Hertz and was associated with the Yellow Cab Company which Hertz also owned.
Nova Bus Inc. is a Canadian bus manufacturer headquartered in Saint-Eustache, Quebec, Canada. Nova is owned by Volvo Buses, a division of the trucks, buses and construction equipment group Volvo.
The St. Louis Car Company was a major United States manufacturer of railroad passenger cars, streetcars, trolleybuses and locomotives that existed from 1887 to 1974, based in St. Louis, Missouri.
The Yellow Coach Manufacturing Company was an early manufacturer of passenger buses in the United States. Between 1923 and 1943, Yellow Coach built transit buses, electric-powered trolley buses, and parlor coaches.
John Daniel Hertz, Sr. was an American businessman, thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder, and philanthropist.
Kenosha Area Transit is a city-owned public transportation agency based in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The Chicago Surface Lines (CSL) was operator of the street railway system of Chicago, Illinois, from the years 1913 to 1947. The firm is a predecessor of today's publicly owned operator, the Chicago Transit Authority.
The current rolling stock of the Chicago "L" rapid transit system consists of 4 series of railcars. The oldest series is the 2600-series which was built between 1981 and 1987 and refurbished between 1999 and 2002. The second series is the 3200-series, built between 1992 and 1994 and refurbished between 2015 and 2018. The third and newest series is known as the 5000-series; built between 2009 and 2015, they feature new technologies such as LED color signs, security cameras, new seating configuration, AC motors, and interior LED signs displaying date and time. The most recent order consists of the 7000-series cars that are planned to replace the 2600-series cars, with options for additional cars that would replace the 3200-series cars.
Chicago, Illinois is the third-largest city in the United States and a major transportation hub for the Midwest. The city is served by two major airports, and is the main freight rail hub of North America.
The Omnibus Corporation is an American bus company that was formed in 1924 and acquired control of Fifth Avenue Coach Company and the Chicago Motor Coach Company with John D. Hertz as chairman. In 1953, it purchased Yellow Drive-It-Yourself from General Motors and sold its interests in public transport. The following year the company was renamed The Hertz Corporation and was floated on the New York Stock Exchange.
The New York City Omnibus Corporation ran bus services in New York City between 1926 and 1962. It expanded in 1935/36 with new bus routes to replace the New York Railways Corporation streetcars when these were dismantled. It further expanded with the acquisition of the Fifth Avenue Coach Company from The Omnibus Corporation in 1954. NYCO was renamed the "Fifth Avenue Coach Lines, Inc." in 1956, becoming bankrupt in 1962, after which operations were taken over by the Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority.
Checker Taxi was a dominant taxicab company and national franchisor that was based in Chicago, Illinois. Checker Motors was an American car company. Both companies were owned by Morris Markin by the 1930s.
