Greyhound Lines, Inc. is the largest intercity bus service in North America. The company was founded in Hibbing, Minnesota, in 1914 by Swedish immigrant Carl Eric Wickman. Wickman began transporting iron ore miners from Hibbing to Alice, Minnesota, for 15 cents per ride after failing to sell a seven-passenger Hupmobile as a salesman. By 1915, Wickman had merged his company with that of Ralph Bogan, forming the Mesaba Transportation Company. The company continued to expand and, in 1929, it adopted the Greyhound name and acquired additional interests to form Eastern Greyhound Lines.
Characteristics | Values |
---|---|
Year founded | 1914 |
Founder | Carl Eric Wickman |
First route | Hibbing, Minnesota |
First route year | 1914 |
First route cost | $0.15 per ride |
First route profit | $2.25 |
First vehicle | 7-passenger Hupmobile |
Headquarters | Downtown Dallas |
What You'll Learn
The company's first route
Greyhound Lines, Inc. is a company that operates the largest intercity bus service in North America. The company's first route began in Hibbing, Minnesota, in 1914, founded by 27-year-old Swedish immigrant Eric Wickman.
Wickman became a Hupmobile salesman in Hibbing, Minnesota, but when he could not sell the first seven-passenger Hupmobile he received, he began using it to transport iron ore miners two miles from Hibbing to Alice for 15 cents per ride. He charged 25 cents for the first round trip, making $2.25 on his first run. Wickman stuffed 18 miners into a seven-passenger Hupmobile, maximizing ridership.
Wickman soon took on partners, including fellow Swedish immigrant Andy "Bus Andy" Anderson and C. A. A. "Arvid" Heed, who helped him invest in larger vehicles. As there were no buses in 1914, Wickman had large touring cars, mostly Studebakers and Packards, sawed in half and elongated. By 1915, Wickman added a 15-mile route to Nashwauk, Minnesota, and in December of that year, he merged his company with that of 19-year-old Ralph Bogan, forming the Mesaba Transportation Company.
By 1918, the company had 18 vehicles and an annual income of $40,000. In 1922, Wickman and Heed sold their interests in the company to Bogan and Anderson. Wickman and Heed then moved to Duluth and acquired White Bus Lines. In 1924, Wickman formed Northland, which continued to expand through acquisitions and mergers, eventually becoming the largest bus company in the world.
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The company's founders
Greyhound Lines, Inc. was founded by Swedish immigrant Carl (also known as Carl Eric) Wickman in 1914. Wickman, a former drill operator at a mine in Alice, Minnesota, started a small transportation service using a seven-passenger car to carry miners from Hibbing, Minnesota, to the nearby town of Alice. He was joined by fellow Swedish immigrants Andy "Bus Andy" Anderson and C. A. A. "Arvid" Heed.
In 1915, Wickman merged his company with that of 19-year-old motorcycle racer Ralph Bogan, forming the Mesaba Transportation Company. By 1918, the company had 18 vehicles and an annual income of $40,000. In 1922, Wickman and Heed sold their interests in the company to Bogan and Anderson. Wickman and Heed then moved to Duluth and acquired White Bus Lines. In 1924, Wickman formed Northland, which acquired the Superior-White Company. In 1925, the company, now called Northland, acquired eight independent bus lines in Minnesota. In 1928, Anderson and Bogan sold most of the routes of the Mesaba Transportation Company to Northland.
In 1929, the company adopted the Greyhound name and moved to Chicago, Illinois. By 1930, more than 100 bus lines had been consolidated into the parent company, then called Motor Transit Corporation. The company changed its name to Greyhound Corp., with the "running dog" as its trademark.
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The company's early backers
Greyhound Lines, Inc. was founded in 1914 by Eric Wickman, a 27-year-old Swedish immigrant who settled in Hibbing, Minnesota. Wickman started the first U.S. bus company after failing to sell a seven-passenger Hupmobile, instead using it to transport iron ore miners from Hibbing to Alice, Minnesota.
In 1915, Wickman merged his company with that of 19-year-old Ralph Bogan, forming the Mesaba Transportation Company. By 1918, the company had 18 vehicles and an annual income of $40,000. In 1925, Wickman and his partner, Orville S. Caesar, merged the company with several others to form the Motor Transit Corporation, nicknamed 'Greyhound' because the buses were sleekly designed and painted grey.
Some of the early backers of the company were the railroads, first the Great Northern Railroad and then the Southern Pacific, Pennsylvania, and New York Central railroads.
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The company's early struggles
Greyhound Lines, Inc. is a company that operates the largest intercity bus service in North America. The company's first route began in Hibbing, Minnesota, in 1914, and it has since expanded to serve 1,700 coaches and 230 stations across 1,700 destinations.
The company was started by Eric Wickman, a 27-year-old Swedish immigrant who was laid off from his job as a drill operator at a mine in Alice, Minnesota. He became a Hupmobile salesman in Hibbing, Minnesota, but when he could not sell the first seven-passenger Hupmobile he received, he began using it to transport iron ore miners from Hibbing to Alice, along with fellow Swedish immigrants Andy "Bus Andy" Anderson and C. A. A. "Arvid" Heed. Wickman made $2.25 on his first run, charging 15 cents per ride.
Wickman almost gave up after the first winter due to the harsh driving conditions in Minnesota, but he persevered and, in 1915, added a 15-mile route to Nashwauk, Minnesota. In December 1915, Wickman merged his company with that of 19-year-old Ralph Bogan, who was running a similar transportation service from Hibbing to Duluth, Minnesota, to form the Mesaba Transportation Company. By 1918, the company had 18 vehicles and an annual income of $40,000.
In 1922, Wickman and Heed sold their interests in the company to Bogan and Anderson. Wickman and Heed then moved to Duluth and acquired White Bus Lines. In 1924, Wickman formed Northland, which acquired the Superior-White Company. In 1925, the company completed the $2.5 million acquisition of eight independent bus lines in Minnesota. In 1928, Anderson and Bogan disbanded and sold most of the routes of the Mesaba Transportation Company to Northland.
The early years of the company were marked by challenges and setbacks. Wickman faced harsh winter driving conditions in Minnesota, and the company's early operations were likely a financial struggle, as evidenced by Wickman's initial difficulty in selling the first Hupmobile he received and his decision to start transporting miners. The company also underwent leadership changes in its early years, with Wickman and Heed selling their interests in the company and moving on to other opportunities. Despite these struggles, the company continued to expand and, by 1928, it had an income of $6 million and was offering trips all over the United States.
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The company's growth
Greyhound Lines, Inc. is the largest intercity bus service in North America. The company's first route began in Hibbing, Minnesota, in 1914, founded by 27-year-old Swedish immigrant Eric Wickman. Wickman started by transporting iron ore miners from Hibbing to Alice, Minnesota, for 15 cents per ride.
In 1915, Wickman merged his company with that of 19-year-old Ralph Bogan, forming the Mesaba Transportation Company. By 1918, the company had 18 vehicles and an annual income of $40,000. In 1922, Wickman sold his interest in the company to Bogan and moved to Duluth, where he acquired White Bus Lines. In 1924, Wickman formed Northland, which acquired the Superior-White Company. In 1925, the company completed the acquisition of eight independent bus lines in Minnesota.
In 1928, the company had an income of $6 million and was offering trips across the United States. In 1929, the company adopted the Greyhound name and acquired additional interests in Gray Line Worldwide and part of the Colonial Motor Coach Company to form Eastern Greyhound Lines. By 1930, more than 100 bus lines had been consolidated into the parent company, then called Motor Transit Corporation. The company changed its name to The Greyhound Corporation and moved its headquarters to Chicago, Illinois.
Despite its popularity, Greyhound nearly failed after the 1929 stock market crash. However, the company's fortunes were boosted by the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago, which increased ridership. The 1934 movie "It Happened One Night," in which the characters take a cross-country bus trip, also contributed to the rise in ridership. By the mid-1930s, Greyhound had recovered and was prospering again. In 1935, national intercity bus ridership climbed 50% to 651,999,000 passengers, surpassing the volume of passengers carried by railroads for the first time.
During World War II, Greyhound played a crucial role in transporting workers to shipyards and munitions factories and military personnel to their bases. The company's growth slowed in the late 1940s, with the increase in private car ownership and labour issues causing a decline in ridership.
In the 1960s, Greyhound began to diversify its business beyond transportation, acquiring companies in the service industry, financial services, and food services. However, the company continued to face challenges with its bus operations throughout the 1970s. In 1978, Greyhound's CEO, Gerald Trautman, acknowledged that the company's health still depended on its bus operations.
In the 1980s, Greyhound faced increased competition from cheaper airfares and a decline in bus ridership due to deregulation. The company also experienced a bitter and violent 47-day bus driver strike in 1983, resulting in $25 million in lost revenues. In 1987, a Dallas-based investment group led by Fred Currey purchased the struggling bus line and renamed it Greyhound Lines, Inc. Currey quickly worked to revamp the company, renovating terminals, increasing advertising, and implementing a computerized reservation system.
In the 1990s, Greyhound continued to face financial challenges, including a bitter driver's strike in 1990 that led to a bankruptcy filing. The company emerged from bankruptcy in 1991 under the leadership of Frank J. Schmieder, who implemented cost-cutting measures and a hub-and-spoke system for routing. In 1995, Schmieder resigned under pressure from shareholders, and Craig Lentzsch took over as CEO. Lentzsch and his team secured an out-of-court refinancing with creditors and made operational changes, leading to steadily increasing revenues.
In 1998, Greyhound entered the market for cross-border bus service between the US and Mexico, forming joint ventures with Mexican transportation companies. In 1999, Greyhound was acquired by Laidlaw Inc., a Canadian firm, creating the largest intercity bus line in North America.
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