Celebrating 100 years, Greyhound turns two buses into mobile museums

This year, some Greyhound buses will take you into the past. Two mobile museums are criss-crossing the country, including California, to tell the company’s story of how it has been transporting Americans for the past 100 years.

The mobile museums’ tour started in Boston on May 29. This month buses will visit Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Cleveland, among other locations. Visitors can examine old signs, vintage driver uniforms and timelines of Greyhound’s history, according to a company statement.

Greyhound’s museum buses won’t roll into California until later this year when they stop in San Francisco on Dec. 13 and Los Angeles on Dec. 20 and 21.

Besides the museums, restored classic buses -- a 1914 Hupmobile, 1931 Mac, 1937 Yellow Coach, 1947 Silversides, and Scenicruisers from 1954 and 1968 -- will be on display alongside new Greyhound coaches with leather seats, power outlets and Wi-Fi. The tours are free and open to the public.

The bus company strives to stay relevant after hitting the century mark by upgrading its fleet and its stations. The Dallas-based company restructured its business to serve a different urban customer who wants more on-board amenities that include plenty of leg room and Wi-Fi, FastCompany.com reports.

The company started in Hibbing, Minn., when it charged 15 cents for a ride in its seven-seater Hupmobile. The car ran the few miles between Hibbing and Alice, serving mostly iron ore miners who needed a ride to and from work.

Swedish immigrants Andrew Anderson and Carl Eric Wickman soon realized no one wanted to buy the cars (they were hoping to open an auto dealership), but people did want to buy tickets to ride. And so the idea of passenger service took root.

That was followed by a long line of acquisitions, government regulations, partnerships and technological advances that would make Greyhound into a national player.

Info: Greyhound’s Mobile Museum Tour schedule

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