The Motor Bus Society (MBS) is a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

-based

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

formed by a

voluntary association A voluntary group or union (also sometimes called a voluntary organization, common-interest association, association, or society) is a group of individuals who enter into an agreement, usually as volunteers, to form a body (or organization) to ac ...

of persons who share an interest in

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

es and

bus transport A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

ation in North America and, in particular, the history of the same. Founded in 1948, it publishes the quarterly magazine, ''Motor Coach Age'', and holds a national convention semi-annually for its members. MBS is based in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

MBS Contact Information.
Motor Bus Society. Retrieved 2010-08-28. and maintains a small, private library and historical

archive An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...

for use by its members and "serious researchers", by appointment only, in central New Jersey."50 Years of the Motor Bus Society". ''Motor Coach Today'', January–March 1998, p. 2.The John P. Hoscheck Memorial Bus Transportation Archives.
Motor Bus Society. Retrieved 2010-08-28.

History

Originally organized in 1948 as the National Motor Bus Association and later changing its name to the Motor Bus Society, Inc., the group's membership includes people working in the bus industry as well as bus enthusiasts, and some members fit both descriptions. Its newsletter soon developed into a regular magazine (see below). Every year since the early 1950s the association has held national membership conventions, in different cities across the

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. There are normally two conventions each year, in spring and fall, one held in the eastern U.S. (or eastern Canada) and the other in the western U.S. (or Canada). As of 2000, MBS had about 1,200 members. It is incorporated in New Jersey as a type- 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, non-profit organization.The Motor Bus Society.
Retrieved 2010-08-28.

Magazines

The Motor Bus Society's magazine, ''Motor Coach Age'' (''MCA'') (ISSN 0739-117X), has been published since 1950. For one or two years prior to that, MBS circulated a simple

mimeograph A mimeograph machine (often abbreviated to mimeo, sometimes called a stencil duplicator) is a low-cost duplicating machine that works by forcing ink through a stencil onto paper. The process is called mimeography, and a copy made by the proc ...

ed newsletter named ''Bus Ways'', but this was replaced in January 1950 by ''Motor Coach Age'', which included photographs. ''MCA'' was changed to a professional format in 1952, with 12- to 16-page issues. During a period of debate among members as to the society's direction, publication of the magazine became sporadic in the late 1950s, but became regular again in 1967, when a new editor, Albert E. Meier, took over that position. Issues thereafter were published monthly and were each 24 pages long. During the 1980s ''MCA'' publication was variably monthly or bimonthly, then bimonthly in the early 1990s. Since the beginning of 1995, the magazine has been a quarterly publication. Issue size varies between 24 and 56 pages, depending on the subject. At least since 1967, the content of ''Motor Coach Age'' has always been focused on history, documenting in detail the histories of, for example,

transportation in particular cities or particular operating companies, or the history of a specific

bus manufacturer Bus manufacturing, a sector of the automotive industry, manufactures buses and coaches. History Bus manufacturing had its earliest origins in carriage building. Other bus manufacturers had their origins in truck manufacturing. Historically, ...

. Included whenever applicable are histories of electric

trolley bus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...

operation and trolley bus manufacturing. From July 1994 until the end of 2003 MBS also published ''Motor Coach Today'' (''MCT''),Motor Coach Age & Motor Coach Today Index, 1950–2006
(PDF). Motor Bus Society. September 30, 2006. Retrieved 2010-08-28. a quarterly magazine focusing on present-day operations rather than history.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website
History of bus transport Clubs and societies in the United States Non-profit organizations based in New Jersey Organizations established in 1948 Transportation associations in the United States

History

Magazines

See also

References

External links