Vermont Transit Lines (VTL) was a bus carrier company serving
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
. Founded in 1929 by William Appleyard, it originally linked the communities of
Barre
Barre or Barré may refer to:
* Barre (name) or Barré, a surname and given name
Places United States
* Barre, Massachusetts, a New England town
** Barre (CDP), Massachusetts, the central village in the town
* Barre, New York, a town
* Barre (c ...
and
Burlington
Burlington may refer to:
Places Canada Geography
* Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador
* Burlington, Nova Scotia
* Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington"
* Burlington, Prince Edward Island
* Burlington Bay, no ...
,
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
, with stops along the route. VTL grew to add destinations throughout the state, and added routes to
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
,
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
; to
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
and
Springfield
Springfield may refer to:
* Springfield (toponym), the place name in general
Places and locations Australia
* Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast)
* Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council)
* Springfield, Queenslan ...
,
; and to
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...
and
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
.
Acquisition by Greyhound Lines
In 1975 VTL was purchased by
Greyhound Lines
Greyhound Lines, Inc. (commonly known as simply Greyhound) operates the largest intercity bus service in North America, including Greyhound Mexico. It also operates charter bus services, Amtrak Thruway services, commuter bus services, and pac ...
, becoming a subsidiary line. Vermont Transit Lines remained based in Burlington, Vermont, with major terminals in
White River Junction
White River Junction is an unincorporated village and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Hartford in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,528 at the 2020 census, up from 2,286 in 2010, making it the largest co ...
, Montreal and Boston. Service was primarily provided along the
Interstate 89
Interstate 89 (I-89) is an Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States traveling from Bow, New Hampshire, to the Canadian border between Highgate Springs, Vermont, and Saint-Armand, Quebec. As with all odd-numbered ...
corridor and then on to Boston.
Discontinuance of the Vermont Transit brand
On April 1, 2008, Greyhound Lines ceased use of the Vermont Transit Lines brand fully consolidating VTL routes into its operations timetable.
Vermont Transit Company leaves the driving, and its name, to Greyhound
Seven Days VT. Retrieved 2017-02-20. Vermont Transit Routes 62 (Montreal-Burlington-White River Junction-Boston), 67 (White River Junction-Springfield) and 60 (Bangor-Boston) remain in the Greyhound national network.
Identity and livery
For most of the company's history, Vermont Transit's identity has been closely tied to the state of Vermont. Drivers wore uniforms in Vermont's state colors of green and gold, with a cloisonne tie clasp of the Vermont coat of arms.
The fleet of buses were painted in a combination of green, gold and black, and several displayed the running greyhound logo albeit in green outline. Until consolidation with Greyhound Lines, seats were upholstered in a custom woven twill of green, gold, and black.
Equipment
Like its parent company, Vermont Transit Lines operated similar equipment with most buses in its fleet supplied by Motor Coach Industries
Motor Coach Industries (MCI) is a North American multinational bus manufacturer, specializing in production of motorcoaches. Best known for coaches produced for intercity transit and commuter buses, MCI produces coaches for a variety of appli ...
, and some by the Belgian coach builder Van Hool
Van Hool NV () is a Belgian family-owned coachbuilder and manufacturer of buses, coaches, trolleybuses, and trailers.
Most of the buses and coaches are built entirely by Van Hool, with engines and axles sourced from Caterpillar, Cummins, ...
.
References
{{reflist
''The Vermonter, the State Magazine.'' Vol. 50, No. 6. Charles O. Little, "The Story of Vermont Transit."
Transport companies established in 1929
Intercity bus companies of the United States
Companies based in Burlington, Vermont
1929 establishments in Vermont
Transportation companies based in Vermont
American companies established in 1929