Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
October 28, 2008 A new version of the influential and time-honored Blue Bird All American school bus was unveiled at the trade show of the National Association for Pupil Transportation annual conference in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. These buses are manufactured by the Blue Bird Corporation, which is based in Fort Valley, Georgia, and traces its... Continue Reading →
October 19, 1973 In the Canadian province of British Columbia, a key transit exchange for buses was opened at Highway 1 and Main Street in the city of North Vancouver. (This waterfront municipality is located on the North Shore of Burrard Inlet and directly across from the larger city of Vancouver.) That transit exchange was... Continue Reading →
October 14, 1892 The first type of tram service in the city of Belgrade in the Kingdom of Serbia (a region that is now part of the Republic of Serbia) was formally introduced. The government of Serbia’s capital had contracted with Periklos Tziklos, a native of Italy, to build this public transportation system. The first... Continue Reading →
September 1, 1973 The first U.S. federal safety standard relating to school buses officially took effect. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) No. 217 was issued by the National Traffic Highway Safety Administration, a part of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), to help better protect the lives of passengers on certain large buses (intercity... Continue Reading →
August 13, 1948 The first trolley buses to run in the city of Vancouver in the Canadian province of British Columbia were formally introduced to the public. These pioneering trolley buses were operated by the British Columbia Electric Railway (BCER), which had been in charge of various electric transit systems in that region of the... Continue Reading →
July 7, 1914 An electric railway (interurban) line in southern Maine began regular operations. This line would serve as a key transit link between the Pine Tree State’s two largest cities: Portland in Cumberland County; and Lewiston in Androscoggin County. Construction on the line began in 1910. The first trial run for the new route... Continue Reading →
June 25, 1916 A major railway station was opened in Bangkok, the capital of the Southeast Asian country known at the time as Siam. (The name of this country was officially changed to Thailand in 1939.) Bangkok Railway Station, which is located in the Pathum Wan District in the center of the city, has also... Continue Reading →
June 10, 1996 A public transportation service designated by New Jersey Transit Corporation (NJ Transit) as Midtown Direct was officially launched in the town of Kearny in northeastern New Jersey. The Kearny Connection, as this linkage is also called, makes it possible for suburban passenger trains starting out on the Morris & Essex Lines of... Continue Reading →
May 21, 1914 With 1914 nearly halfway over, 28-year-old Swedish immigrant Eric Wickman was dealing with more than his usual share of challenges. He had arrived in the United States in 1905, and found work as a drill operator in iron ore mines in the northeastern city of Hibbing, Minnesota. In 1914, however, Wickman was laid... Continue Reading →
May 17, 1992 A Baltimore-area light rail system that is operated by the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) began regular train runs. The initial segment of this system covered 13 miles (20.9 kilometers) between the community of Timonium in Baltimore County and the then-new Major League Baseball stadium (formally named Oriole Park at Camden Yards and... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 