User:Allamericanbear/Buffalo Transit Company, Inc.

Buffalo Transit Company Inc. (BTC) was a suburban public transportation provider for the eastern and southern suburbs of Erie County, New York. Most service originated at Lafayette Square in Downtown Buffalo.

History
Founded by William H. Pennsyres in the year 1924 as the Buffalo and Akron Transit Company, the first route ran from Downtown Buffalo through to Cheektowaga, Clarence, ending in the Town of Akron, New York. A short two years later, in 1926, a second route was added, originating from Downtown Buffalo and reaching to Cheektowaga, Depew, Lancaster, Alden, Darien, Alexander, and ending in Attica. The service was previously operated by the International Bus Company (IBC), a subsidary of the International Traction Company, the parent company also of the International Railway Company (a rival to the BTC) In 1927, the name of the company changed to the Buffalo Transit Company, Inc.

In 1930, service was added into the Village of Williamsville replacing service previously offered by the International Railway Company's inter-urban rail line. By this time, Buffalo Transit Company, Inc. serviced many of the townships east of Buffalo.

The BTC expanded further, expanding their presence south of the city, instead of north; first acquiring the Erie County Motor Coach Lines in 1931, adding service into Orchard Park, West Seneca, Gardenville and Ebenezer, and then in 1946, acquiring the Hamburg Bus Company, adding three lines; the Lakeshore/Camp route, the South Park route, and the Abbott Road Route. The BTC never realized service into East Aurora, with Central Greyhound Lines serving East Aurora on its Buffalo-Olean-Port Allegany line run.

By that time, most BTC vehicles originated in Downtown Buffalo, at today's present-day Lafayette Square. Efforts were made to allow transfers between vehicles with little wait. Like the International Railway Company, the system operated on a hub and spoke system, resulting in many passengers transferring between BTC routes at Lafayette Square.

In 1943, Pennsyres sold the BTC to Jerry Campbell, a salesman for Yellow Coach, the bus manufacturing division for General Motors.

In 1961, the Niagara Frontier Transit System (NFTS) purchased the BTC for $1.1 million, and after three years, virtually all traces of the past company ceased to exist, with many NFTS routes in the City of Buffalo continuing past the city limits, well into the suburbs.

Routes
Unlike the NFTS, the BTC used letters to distinguish between individual routes, while the Niagara Frontier Transit System and International Railway Company utilized numbers to designate routes. After the NFTS takeover, all remnants of lettered routes, except in the case of a letter following a number were eliminated. In many cases, however, the original letter followed the route number used by the NFTS route in the city. For instance, some service into Alden and Lancaster became route "4B". Other variations may have existed and were dealt with different letters.

In addition, buses on BTC routes did not serve passengers whose trips operated wholly in the City of Buffalo. To show this, drivers would only board passengers between Downtown Buffalo and city limits, and discharge only within the city limits while heading towards Downtown Buffalo.

Bus fleet

 * This list is incomplete. You can help!  Please provide citable items for the table.

The BTC, upon it's early beginnings, relied on a number of different bus manufacturers to provide its rolling stock. Many of the major manufacturers provided at least one vehicle to the BTC fleet.

Some of the earlier manufacturers names included Twin Coach, American Car & Foundry, Ford, Mack, Yellow Coach, and General Motors. Toward the end of the BTC era, most of the buses acquired by the NFTS were General Motors buses.

The buses were distributed between three depots; the Lakeshore Division, the Broadway Division, and the Williamsville Division.

ACF - American Car & Foundry

Ford - Ford Motors

GMC - General Motors Corporation

Mack - Mack Truck Division

Twin - Twin Coach (div. of Fageol Bros.)

Yellow - Yellow Coach (Div. of GMC)