What Year Was The First School Bus Manufactured?

What year was the first School Bus manufactured?

School Bus History: Wayne Works, predecessor of Wayne Corporation was founded in the U.S.A in 1837.

By 1886, and possibly earlier, it is known that the company was making horse-drawn school carriages which many people referred to as "school hacks," "school cars," "school trucks," or "kid hacks."

("hack" was a term for certain types of horse-drawn carriages.) In this era, in rural areas, it was very common to use farm wagons to transport children to schools throughout North America where sleds were adapted for heavy winters in northern climates.

In those days, most elementary children in rural areas attended one-room schools. A typical kid hack would serve all the farms in the area of the school, and usually transport under 20 children.
The horse-drawn kid hack is considered to be the precursor to the modern yellow school bus.

In 1914 early designs of "kid hacks" were attached to early motor vehicles by the Wayne Works in Richmond, Indiana. As motorized trucks became more commonplace in rural locations, detachable wooden kid hack bodies were made which could be removed when the truck was in other use.

Around 1927, much heavier all-steel bodies were introduced for this purpose by Wayne Works and other companies. Permanently mounted on the truck chassis, the combined vehicle became known as a School Bus.
A short explanation of School Bus History and to answer the question I've received from readers "what year was the first school bus manufactured"