scrap school bus 3D model school student iron wreckage road highway vehicle service junkyardA school bus is any type of bus owned, leased, contracted to, or operated by a school or school district. It is regularly used to transport students to and from school or school-related activities, but not including a charter bus or transit bus.[1] Various configurations of school buses are used worldwide; the most iconic examples are the yellow school buses of the United States which are also found in other parts of the world, including Canada.

In North America, school buses are purpose-built vehicles distinguished from other types of buses by design characteristics mandated by federal and state/provincial regulations. In addition to their distinct paint color (National School Bus Glossy Yellow), school buses are fitted with exterior warning lights (to give them traffic priority) and multiple safety devices.[2]

A Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2 school bus, with its exterior (top) and interior (bottom) shownDesign history19th centuryMain article: Kid hack

One-horse kid hack (Early 1910s)

A 1912 Studebaker truck with a school bus bodyIn the second half of the 19th century, many rural areas of the United States and Canada were served by one-room schools. For those students who lived beyond practical walking distance from school, transportation was facilitated in the form of the kid hack; at the time, hack was a term referring to certain types of horse-drawn carriages.[3] Essentially re-purposed farm wagons, kid hacks were open to the elements, with little to no weather protection.

In 1892, Indiana-based Wayne Works (later Wayne Corporation) produced its first school car[3][4] A purpose-built design, the school car was constructed with perimeter-mounted wooden bench seats and a roof (the sides remained open).[3] As a horse-drawn wagon, the school car was fitted with a rear entrance door (intended to avoid startling the horses while loading or unloading passengers); over a century later, the design remains in use (as an emergency exit).

In 1869, Massachusetts became the first state to add transportation to public education; by 1900, 16 other states would transport students to school.[4]

1900–1930

Blue Bird No. 1, the first bus constructed by A.L. Luce, founder of the Blue Bird Body Company. It is based on a 1927 Ford Model T chassis.Following the first decade of the twentieth century, several developments would affect the design of the school bus and student transport. As vehicles evolved from horse-drawn to horseless propulsion on a wider basis, the wagon bodies of kid hacks and school cars were adapted to truck frames. While transitioning into purpose-built designs, a number of features from wagons were retained, including wood construction, perimeter bench seating, and rear entry doors. Weather protection remained minimal; some designs adopted a tarpaulin stretched above the passenger seating.

In 1915, International Harvester constructed its first school bus;[4] today, its successor company Navistar still produces school bus cowled chassis.

In 1919, the usage of school buses became funded in all 48 US states.[4]

In 1927, Ford dealership owner A.L. Luce produced a bus body for a 1927 Ford Model T. The forerunner of the first Blue Bird school buses, steel was used to panel and frame the bus body; wood was relegated to a secondary material.[5] While fitted with a roof, the primary weather protection of the Luce bus design included roll-up canvas side curtains.[5]