These interurban and intercity bus companies were listed in Annual Reports of the Indiana Public Service Commission from 1926 through 1933. Listed were company headquarters, but not the routes. Bus companies listed in the earlier 1925 Annual Report and the 1925 Page are included, only if they continued to operate through 1933 or beyond. For those companies, certificate numbers are included, or "MULTI" if that company had multiple certificates. Years of operation are listed, where a year is not listed that company operated beyond the 1926 through 1933 range.
For most companies, little information is available regarding the sale or transfer of routes and certificates. This list is grouped in three sections, the first two sections covering companies where more such information is available. The first section is the companies which evolved into the Greyhound and Trailways systems, and the second section is the companies which evolved into the local bus systems serving Northwest Indiana. The third section lists the remaining companies, where the least historic information is available.
Certificate Name Headquarters Years Operated
Capitol Greyhound Lines Cincinnati OH 1930-1955
106M B. P. Shearon Gary -1926
(1925 acquired Jos. C. Rachor operations)
(1927 sold to Shore Line Motor Coach Co.)
Carey & Leach Bus Lines Kalamazoo MI 1926-1927
(1927 sold to Shore Line Motor Coach Co.)
Southwestern Michigan Motor Coach Co. Chicago IL 1927-1929
(1927 acquired Shore Line Motor Coach Co. routes east of Gary)
Interstate Stages Chicago IL 1928-1929
Safety Motor Coach Lines Muskegon MI 1928-1930
Eastern Greyhound Lines of Michigan Cleveland OH 1930-1936
Central Greyhound Lines 1936-1955
248M Blue Goose Lines Indianapolis -1928
Pioneer Stages Oakland CA 1928-1928
Southland Transportation Co. Cincinnati OH 1926-1928
Sunny South Lines Detroit MI 1928-1928
Central Greyhound Lines (original company) Cincinnati OH 1930-1935
Ohio Greyhound Lines 1935-1941
Great Lakes Greyhound Lines of Indiana 1941-1957
Indianapolis-Cincinnati Bus Co. Indianapolis 1925-1927
(1927 sold to Greyhound Lines of Indiana)
Greyhound Lines of Indiana Indianapolis 1926-1930
Pickwick Greyhound Lines St. Louis MO 1928-1930
Pennsylvania-Indiana General Transit Co. Indianapolis 1929-1932
Pennsylvania Greyhound Lines of Indiana Cleveland OH 1932-
Southern Limited Chicago IL 1930-1954
MULTI Indiana Railroad Indianapolis 1930-1950
(Union Traction Co./Interstate Public Service Co. until 1930)
26M Indianapolis & Southeastern Railroad Co. Indianapolis 1929-1945
(Indianapolis & Cincinnati Traction Co. until 1929)
Indianapolis & Southeastern Trailways 1945-1954
Southeastern Trailways 1954-1998
Further information on the evolution of the Greyhound and Trailways companies.
Capitol Greyhound Lines
Central Greyhound Lines
Great Lakes Greyhound Lines of Indiana
Pennsylvania Greyhound Lines
Southern Limited
Indianapolis & Southeastern Railroad/Southeastern Trailways
Certificate Name Headquarters Years Operated
MULTI Gary Street Railway Co. Gary -1925
MULTI Blue Safety Coach Co. Indiana Harbor -1925
175M Julius Woituk East Chicago -1925
Gary Railways Co. Gary 1925-1956
(1926 transferred certificates outside Gary to Shore Line Motor Coach Co.)
Shore Line Motor Coach Co. Gary 1926-1931
(1926 acquired Gary Railways Co. certificates outside Gary)
(1927 sold routes east of Gary to Southwestern Michigan Motor Coach Co.)
MULTI John E. Maloy Hammond -1926
223M Farina Bus Line & Transportation Co. Gary -1926
MULTI Twin City Bus Co. Indiana Harbor -1929
174M Selby Peterson Hammond -1929
Midwest Motor Coach Co. Chicago IL 1925-1931
Chicago & Calumet District Transit Co. Hammond 1931-1971
By 1925, Gary Street Railway Co. was the dominant operator of buses in Northwest Indiana. That company was controlled by Samuel Insull. In 1926, Shore Line Motor Coach Co. was formed as a separate company, also controlled by Insull, to operate the bus routes outside Gary. In 1931, those operations outside Gary became Chicago & Calumet District Transit Co.Greater detail on the bus routes in Northwest Indiana are at these pages.
Chicago & Calumet District Transit Co.
Gary Railways Co.
Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad
Certificate Name Headquarters Years Operated
199M A.B.C. Coach Line Ft. Wayne
491M Robert Abrams Utica
American Stages Indianapolis 1930-
MULTI Pete Argenta Vincennes
134M Bedford-Mitchell Motor Bus Co. Mitchell
Bedford City Bus Co. Bedford 1926-1927
Beech Grove Traction Beech Grove 1929-1930
(1929 acquired South Side Motor Coach Co.)
Belt Line Bus Co. Chicago IL 1930-1931
122M Bloomington & Greencastle Bus Line Bloomington
Bloomington-Nashville-Columbus Bus Line Columbus 1928-1929
Blue Bird Coach Line Vincennes 1926-1927
Bridge Transit Co. Louisville KY 1929-
Charlestown Bus Line Charlestown 1932-
Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad Michigan City 1930-
Columbus-Nashville-Bloomington Bus Line Columbus 1929-1931
Columbus Shelbyville & Rushville Bus Line Columbus 1925-
Charles Copes Bus Line Indianapolis 1932-
Clinton West Bus Line Clinton 1932-
Crescent Bus Line Co. Evansville 1926-1929
Crouch Bus Line Connersville 1926-1930
Crystal White Coach Line Co. Lafayette 1925-1926
Crown Bus Lines Chicago IL 1928-1929
Danville Bus Line Danville 1930-
78M Danville-Terre Haute Limited Bus Co. Danville IL
Deluxe Motor Stages Detroit MI 1932-
Eagle Bus Line Batesville 1927-1928
133M Evansville & Ohio Valley Railroad Co. Evansville
Evansville Suburban & Newburgh Railway Co. Evansville 1932-
Felder Bus Co. Hebron 1927-1928
Fort Wayne-Kalamazoo Bus Co. Kalamazoo MI 1932-
Fort Wayne-North Manchester Bus Line North Manchester 1928-
MULTI D. A. Gillispie Logansport
196M Good Brothers Waveland
Great Eastern Stages Cleveland OH 1930-
Greenville-Dayton Transportation Co. Greenville OH 1927-
Grube Smith Co. Terre Haute 1925-1930
121M Indiana Motor Bus Co. Plymouth
MULTI Indiana Motor Transit Co. Indianapolis
Indiana Safety Coach Corp. Marion 1929-1930
Indiana Safeway Lines Harvey IL 1932-
MULTI Indiana Service Corp. Indianapolis
Indian Trails Stages Owosso MI 1930-
MULTI Indianapolis Railways Indianapolis
(Indianapolis Street Railway Co. until 1932)
MULTI Jahns Bus Co. LaPorte
Jones & Bilyen Bedford 1925-1927
E. O. Kramer Huntington 1925-1926
Lambert Taxi & Transportation Co. Connersville 1926-1927
Layne Bus Line Co. Crawfordsville 1928-
MULTI Leppert Bus Lines Columbus
Lincoln Way Bus Line Petersburg 1927-1930
Linton-Sullivan Bus Line Linton 1928-1930
Marion-Bluffton Bus Line Marion
Marion-Ft. Wayne Motor Coach Co. Marion 1926-1928
Meadors & Allen Salem 1928-
112M Middlebury Bus Line Middlebury
Midwest Transit Co. Lebanon 1925-
Muncie-Kokomo Coach Line Muncie 1929-
Nappanee-South Bend Motor Bus Co. Nappanee 1932-
Newcastle-Knightstown-Rushville Bus Line Newcastle 1925-1926
Newcastle-Muncie Bus Line Newcastle 1927-1928
Northern Indiana Power Co. Kokomo 1925-1932
MULTI Northern Indiana Railway South Bend
(Chicago South Bend & Northern Indiana Railway Co. until 1930)
Ohio Bus Line Cincinnati OH 1930-
Dan Patch Bus Lines Clay City 1930-
Paulding-Ft. Wayne Bus Line Paulding OH 1929-1931
127M Payne & Troxler Muncie
MULTI Peoples Motor Coach Co. Indianapolis
Fred C. Phillips Lynn 1925-
99M Platter & Baldwin Rockville
69M Tony Poparad Indianapolis
MULTI James W. Powell Princeton
19M Public Service Co. of Indiana Indianapolis
(Terre Haute Indianapolis & Eastern Traction Co. until 1931)
Purple Stages Wilmington IL 1928-1929
Rainbow Bus Line Linton 1929-1930
Reindeer Stages Chicago IL 1930-
45M Reo Motor Bus Line Danville IL
Ricanda Stages Clinton 1932-
Tipton A. Richardson Seymour 1925-1926
Richmond-Liberty-Oxford Bus Line Richmond 1927-1930
Rippey & Dillon Syracuse 1925-1930
Rochester-Akron Bus Line Rochester 1927-1928
Rockville Bus Line Rockville 1926-1927
Rose City Motor Coach Co. Newcastle 1928-1929
Scenic Bus Lines Nashville 1932-
MULTI Schappi Bus Line Calumet City IL
234M Schuppert Bus Line Corydon
1M Seymour-Bedford Bus Line Norman Station
266M Logan J. Smith Indianapolis
Southern Indiana Gas & Electric Co. Evansville 1926-
Suburban Bus Co. Indianapolis 1931-
Sullivan-Linton Bus Line Linton 1927-1928
Sunshine Gardens Bus Co. Indianapolis 1927-1930
Amos Surface Union City 1925-1930
Terre Haute & Western Bus Line Decatur IL 1932-
Toledo-Fort Wayne Bus Co. Defiance OH 1926-
Union City Bus Line Union City 1932-
Union City & Richmond Bus Union City 1930-1932
Vevay-Cincinnati Bus Co. Rising Sun 1928-
MULTI Wabash Valley Coach Co. Terre Haute
314M Wabash Valley Transit Co. Marshall IL
Walkerton-South Bend Bus Co. Walkerton 1932-
278M Ward Bus Line Elwood
47M Western Motor Line Co. Terre Haute
36M White Star Bus Line Madison
MULTI Yoder Bus Lines Elkhart
For this page, the Indiana Public Service Commission lists unfortunately do not distinguish between bus companies and truck companies. Additional lists or resources were used to verify that these were indeed bus companies, some companies where there was uncertainty might have been omitted.