In 1910, Wayne and Cora Taylor of Owosso bought a car and launched a business. Their customers were rail passengers looking for hotel rooms.
"When they got to Durand, there was no place for them to stay overnight, so we shuttled them over here," Indian Trails, Inc. President Gordon Mackay.
That was the start of what would later be called Indian Trails. As General Motors plants in Flint began to grow, so did the company, by transporting workers back and forth from Shiawassee County. More expansion came in the 60s.
"We began to forge into the charter and tourist business," Mackay said.
Today, Indian Trails employs 175 people and offers scheduled bus service throughout Michigan and parts of Wisconsin.
The folks at Indian Trails are innovative. This particular bus runs a route in the U.P. So they welded on a special bumper to protect the bus from deer, bear and moose.
The Indian Trails fleet is comprised of 62 coaches. Each carries the name of a Indian chief.
"People often think they're something we just conjured up, but they're actual Michigan Indian chiefs," company Vice President Ken Henry said.
Indian Trails offers charters throughout the Midwest. It provides bus service on the Western Michigan University campus and company buses carry athletic teams from that school and from MSU and U of M.
"We handle a lot of professional teams that come in to play the Lions, Tigers and Red Wings," Mackay noted.
Mackay says the company take pride in outfitting the fleet with the latest technology. "Many of the things you see on a motor coach today we pioneered. The interiors, the sound systems, the TV monitors."
"We were one of the first companies in the state to equip our motor coaches with Wi-Fi," company Vice President Chad Cushman pointed out.
In September, Indian Trails plans to open a display of its corporate history at its facilities on M-21.
