The Chicago Motor Coach Company was founded in 1917 by

John D. Hertz John Daniel Hertz, Sr. (April 10, 1879October 8, 1961) was an American businessman, thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder, and philanthropist. Biography Born Sándor Herz to a Jewish family in Szklabinya, Austria-Hungary (today Sklabiňa, a ...

to provide

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

's first bus transportation services, primarily in places where streetcars were not able to travel. The company grew rapidly and was purchased by the

Chicago Transit Authority The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the operator of mass transit in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and some of its surrounding suburbs, including the trains of the Chicago 'L' and CTA bus service. In , the system had a ridership of , o ...

(CTA) in 1952. It operated only motor coaches, whereas the larger

Chicago Surface Lines The Chicago Surface Lines (CSL) was operator of the street railway system of Chicago, Illinois, from 1913 to 1947. The firm is a predecessor of today's publicly owned operator, the Chicago Transit Authority. History The first streetcars in Chi ...

and successor CTA also operated trolley coaches.

History

founded the Chicago Motor Coach Company in 1917 to run bus transport services in Chicago. During the period that he was running this company he was actively involved with many other transport businesses, including

taxicab A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice ...

operation, taxicab manufacture, car rental and the manufacture of coaches and later cars. He then formed the

Yellow Coach Manufacturing Company The Yellow Coach Manufacturing Company (informally Yellow Coach) was an early manufacturer of passenger buses in the United States. Between 1923 and 1943, Yellow Coach built transit buses, electric-powered trolley buses, and parlor coaches. Fou ...

in 1923 as a subsidiary of the

Yellow Cab Company The Yellow Cab Company was a taxicab company in Chicago which was founded in 1907 by John D. Hertz. In 1920 the Yellow Cab Manufacturing Company was formed to manufacture taxicabs. During the 1910s and 1920s the company was involved in cons ...

to manufacture buses, many of which were used by the Chicago Coach Company. Hertz sold a majority interest in the Yellow Coach Manufacturing Company to

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

in 1925 and then the balance in 1943. By the mid-1920s, the Chicago Coach Company operated with 423 buses and 1,800 employees serving 134 street miles within the city. In 1952, the company was purchased by the

. Additionally, there is a Chicago Motor Coach, Inc. that operates in the

Chicago area The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hint ...

separate from the original company.

References

{{Authority control Transport companies established in 1917 Bus transportation in Illinois Chicago Transit Authority Transportation in Chicago History of Chicago 1917 establishments in Illinois Transport companies disestablished in 1952 1952 disestablishments in Illinois