“Leave the Driving to Us”

Americans who rode intercity buses in the 1930s and early 1940s were using one of the most convenient, modern, and comfortable forms of motor transportation of the time. Advertisements, movies, and on-board amenities made bus travel seem glamorous and modern. Streamlined design and art deco bus stations added to the allure. During World War II, when car production nearly ceased and gasoline was rationed, bus riding hit its peak. But after 1950, more people drove cars or took a plane to travel long distance. A streamlined bus cruising down the highway no longer heralded the future. In the 1950s, buses had become the way that people who could afford no other means of transportation traveled.