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| PRE-SEMTA SUBURBAN BUSES - Pg. 2 |
CLICK-ON "SUBURBAN BUSES-Pg. 3" TO VIEW GREAT LAKES TRANSIT COACH PHOTOS
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| The transit vehicles displayed on these Suburban Photo Pages were purchased by the privately-owned bus companies that serviced Detroit's suburbs before being acquired by the Southeastern Michigan Transportation Authority (SEMTA) between 1971-1975. |
| Please click-on link to return to the "SUBURBAN TRANSIT" Main Page. |
| METROPOLITAN (METRO) TRANSIT, INC. (1962–1974) |
THE METROPOLITAN TRANSIT YEARS: (1962–1974)
| Metropolitan Transit was a privately-owned suburban Detroit bus company that serviced Detroit's western and downriver suburbs, including Allen Park, Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Inkster, Lincoln Park, Melvindale, Riverview, Taylor, Wayne and Westland. The early history of this company, just like LSCL (Pg. 1), goes back to the Detroit Motorbus Co., which was put out of business when its license to operate in Detroit was revoked. |
| With the passage of Public Act 327 0f 1972, state funds were now available through a 2¢ per gallon gasoline tax that allowed SEMTA to begin purchasing Detroit's financially-strapped suburban bus companies. Initially, these funds were used by SEMTA to enter into a number of short-term "purchase-of-services" agreements, where SEMTA would pay these bus companies (including Metro Transit) for maintaining service on their own routes. This arrangement managed to keep those companies in operation until purchased by SEMTA. Effective January 1, 1974, SEMTA took-over operation of the Metro Transit routes, which formed SEMTA's new Metropolitan Division. At the time of purchase, Metropolitan Transit, Inc. operated 60 GM 'New-Look' buses along 14 routes. Today, these routes are serviced by the SMART #100 and 200-series routes. |
| In March 1960, Intertown Suburban was purchased again, and became a subsidiary of American Transit Corp. (ATC), a national bus company. Under ATC, 40-foot buses were purchased for the first time and several new school tripper agreements were signed. But ATC's ownership would be short-lived, as more labor problems lay just ahead. On August 1, 1961, drivers and maintenance workers from Local 1265 of the Amalgamated Association of Street, Electric Railway and Motor Coach Employees of America (now, ATU) struck the company for the last time. After 64 days, and no agreement reached, the company announced that it will be ceasing operations. On December 31, 1961, Intertown Suburban Lines would officially go out of business. |
| New owners took over the company in 1946, who, in Oct. 1950, renamed Dearborn Coach Co. (along with its subsidiary Lincoln Park Coach Co) as, "Intertown Suburban Lines, Corp." By 1955, the company had grown to 153 buses and operated nearly 30 routes. However, Intertown—much like its predecessor had since 1941—continued to be plagued by a number of union employee strikes. These strikes were so numerous that the City of Dearborn had threatened to launch its own city-owned bus company to replace the Intertown service. |
THE INTERTOWN SUBURBAN LINES YEARS: (1950–1961)
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| In addition to the fifteen 35-foot (45-pass) TDH-4509s purchased in 1951–1952, more fleets of 35-footers were on the way. Beginning in 1953 — the same year GM made "air-ride suspension" standard on its old-looks — ten Model TDH-4512s (#126-135) were purchased. Additional fleets followed in 1954 (10); 1955 (5); 1956 (30) and in 1957 (10). Out of a fleet of 110 GM Old-Looks, 15 were TDH-4509s and 65 were TDH-4512s. Coach #207 in photo was one of the last ten TDH-4512s (#201-210), and the last Old-Looks delivered to Intertown Suburban in February 1957. It is seen here working route #1-A DETROIT-WAYNE VIA MICHIGAN AVENUE. [photo used for educational purposes only. No copyright infringement intended] |
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| In early 1962, Bert Jasper — former president of Intertown Suburban — managed to gather together ten investors; obtain the proper approvals; purchase back some of the buses; and formed Metropolitan Transit, Inc. After six long months of idle buses, service would resume on February 19, 1962, with 60 buses, all based out of the Dearborn Garage. Although some routes were immediately eliminated, new service was later added. During the mid-1960s, Metro Transit contracted with the Ford Motor Co. to shuttle workers within the Rouge auto plant and to also transport tourists from Greenfield Village to plant tours through the Ford Rouge complex. By 1968, the Metro bus fleet had increased to 78 coaches operating along 14 bus routes. |
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| Coach #15 was one of five GM Model TDH-5303s (#14-18) delivered to Metro Transit in May 1965. In this Nov. 1978 photo, it is still sporting its Metro Transit colors four years after Metro had been purchased by SEMTA. All 36 of the 40-foot GM TDH-5301s, TDH-5303s and T6H-5305s purchased by Metro Transit between 1962 and 1968 were assigned numbers #1-36. [Melvin Bernero photobucket.com collection, used by permission of Melvin Bernero] |
| Coach #16 was also part of that May 1965 order, and is pictured here laying-over on St. Antoine south of Jefferson Ave. in 1978. In addition to the thirty-six 40-foot New-Looks purchased, two additional 40-foot suburban edition Model SDM-5302 (manual transmission) New-Looks (#101-102) were also purchased by Metro in March 1967. Ten Model T8H-5307As (#37-46) were later purchased by SEMTA in 1972 and leased to Metro Transit for #1.00 a year per bus. [Melvin Bernero photobucket.com collection, used by permission of Melvin Bernero] |
| Metro Transit also purchased ten 35-foot Model TDH-4519 and T6H-4521 GM 'New-Looks' (#2012-2021) between 1964–1969. It had also acquired Intertown Suburban's first two original TDH-4517s (#2010-2011) purchased by ATC in 1960. Coach #2015 — one of two TDH-4519s (#2014-2015) delivered in Sept. 1965 — is seen here in 1978 still sporting its Ford Rouge color scheme (minus the Ford blue oval logo) used on Metro Transit's Ford Rouge Factory tour buses. [Melvin Bernero photobucket.com collection, used by permission of Melvin Bernero] |
| Metropolitan Transit coach #179 was one of ten 35-foot long, 96-inch wide, 45-passenger Model TDH-4512s (#171-180) initially delivered to Intertown Suburban Lines in Feb. 1956. It's pictured here in this Aug 1969 photo south on Randolph at Congress displaying a "VETERANS HOSPITAL" sign and en route to the Veterans' Administration Hospital in Allen Park. All of the GM 'Old-Looks' were already retired when SEMTA took-over Metro Transit on Jan. 1, 1974. [photo courtesy of the Krambles-Peterson archive collection: G. Mac Sebree photo] |
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| THE COMPANY'S FIRST GM "NEW-LOOK" COACHES The first GM 'New-Looks' to be placed into service were purchased during the brief period when Intertown Suburban Lines was owned by American Transit Corp. Twelve GM 'New-Look' coaches (#2010, 2011, 2013-2017 and 2125-2129) were purchased between 1960–61, including five Model TDH-5301s (#2013-2017) — the first 40-foot coaches to be used by Intertown. However, all but two of the buses were returned to ATC after it shut-down the company in 1961. |
| After purchasing ten 30-foot GM TDH-3612s (#101-110) between 1947–1948, fifteen 35-foot TDH-4509s (#111-125) were purchased between 1951–1952. In top photo, one of ten 35-foot TDH-4512s delivered in 1954 can be seen parked outside the Dearborn Garage on Hartwell. The Dearborn Garage (built in 1926) would remain in operation until closed by SEMTA in 1978. In bottom photo, ten new 30-foot (37-pass) TDH-3714s (#146-155) are lined up for delivery in Sept 1954. In total, 20 TDH-3714s were purchased, with ten more being delivered in 1955. [GM promotional photos courtesy of GMC Truck & Coach Sales Brochure] |
| For Comments & Suggestions Please Contact Site Owner at: admin@detroittransithistory.info |
© 2013 (PAGE MODIFIED ON 07-28-13, 01-31-15, 04-28-15)
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Information for the above was gathered from various newspaper articles supplied by Stan Sycko; numerous bus enthusiasts websites; and
from Motor Coach Age Magazine articles on the history of Detroit's suburban lines co-authored by Jack E. Schramm and Robert L. Cambell,
including the Oct-Dec 2002 edition titled "Detroit's Suburban Buses" and the Oct-Dec 2003 edition "SEMTA and SMART."
from Motor Coach Age Magazine articles on the history of Detroit's suburban lines co-authored by Jack E. Schramm and Robert L. Cambell,
including the Oct-Dec 2002 edition titled "Detroit's Suburban Buses" and the Oct-Dec 2003 edition "SEMTA and SMART."
| After Detroit Motorbus ceased operations on Jan. 1, 1932, another group of management people purchased the company's Northville (Seven Mile Rd), Plymouth (via Ford and Plymouth roads) and Wayne (Michigan Ave) routes, along with a number of local Dearborn loop routes, and formed the Dearborn Coach Co. (DCC). The company's 52 buses operated out of the former DMB "Fordson Garage" at 5645 Hartwell Ave. at Ford Road in Dearborn. Although DCC began operations on Feb. 18, 1932, PUC approval went into effect March 19, 1932. In 1933, Dearborn Coach began providing service within the city of Lincoln Park, which operated as a separate division under the name Lincoln Park Coach Co. This new division operated out of a garage on Fort Street near Goddard in Lincoln Park. In 1937, a Lincoln Park route along Fort Street to downtown Detroit was added. By 1935, Dearborn Coach had creased operations north of Dearborn—having sold its Northville and Plymouth routes to focus on Dearborn, Lincoln Park, and the suburbs along Michigan Ave., Southfield Rd., and Fort St. |
THE DEARBORN COACH COMPANY YEARS: (1932–1950)
| GM "OLD-LOOK" COACHES |
| After the new owners took over Dearborn Coach Co. in 1946, the decision was made to begin standardizing the bus fleet with GM diesel buses. Between 1947 and 1957, the company would purchase 110 various-size models of GM 'Old-Look' diesel coaches (#101-210). In this GM Truck & Coach promotional photo, Intertown Suburban Lines coach #140 — a 1954 GM Model TDH-4512 — is headed west on Fort St. at Sixth while sporting the Intertown Suburban colors. [photo courtesy of the Samuel Braxton Jr. Bus Photo Collection] |
GM "NEW-LOOK" COACHES
| Under Metropolitan Transit, forty-eight of the 40-foot long GM New Looks would be purchased between 1962 and 1972, including ten that were leased from SEMTA. In this August 1969 photo, Metro Transit coach #22 is laying-over on Shelby south of Michigan Ave. in downtown Detroit while working route #4-A DETROIT-WESTLAND CENTER VIA CHERRY HILL. Coach #22 was one of five GM Model TDH-5303s (#19-23) delivered to Metro Transit in July 1966. [photo courtesy of the Krambles-Peterson archive collection: G. Mac Sebree photo] |
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| Coach #2018 — one of two TDH-4519s (#2018-2019) delivered in July 1967 — is seen here still sporting its Ford blue oval logo a few years after the SEMTA take-over. For a number of years, FoMoCo chartered Metro Transit buses to transport tourists along the Ford Rouge Factory Tour route from Greenfield Village, and also shuttled workers within the plant. Notice that the GM nameplate on these buses had been replaced by the coach number with the Ford logo bolted along the side — more than likely an attempt to remove any identification associated with GM. [Photo courtesy of MCA (Oct-Dec 2002 issue) used for educational purposes] |
(Click-on photo to view larger image)
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| SOUTHEASTERN MICHIGAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY PURCHASE |
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| In 1975, SEMTA adopted a standard paint scheme design for its bus fleet. Those former Metro Transit coaches still on the roster after 1975 were repainted with this new livery. Coach #17 — a Model TDH-5303 (second generation) GM "New-Look" delivered to Metropolitan Transit in May 1965, can be seen here sporting the new SEMTA color scheme while working the route #810 Plymouth-Livonia Park & Ride — one of several new routes launched by SEMTA. [photo source: online – unknown (unidentified) photo collection] |
| Coach #31 — a Model T6H-5305 (third generation) GMC "New-Look" delivered to Metropolitan Transit in Dec. 1968, can be seen here sporting the new SEMTA colors while working former Metropolitan Transit route #2-B Garden City-Westland. One of eight coaches purchased in 1968 (#29-36), these would be the last 40-foot coaches to be purchased by Metro Transit. [photo source: online – unknown (unidentified) photo collection] |