Indian Trails is an intercity bus operator primarily serving the U.S. state of

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, with routes also serving

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

and

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. Indian Trails is based in

Owosso, Michigan Owosso () is the largest city in Shiawassee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 14,714 at the 2020 census. It is located west of Flint, and northeast of Lansing. The city is mostly surrounded by Owosso Township on its we ...

, with offices in

Romulus Romulus (, ) was the legendary founder and first king of Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus and his contemporaries. Although many of th ...

East Lansing East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County, although a small portion extends north into Clinton County, Michigan, Clinton County. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

, and

Kalamazoo Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 73,598. It is the principal city of the Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan are ...

History

Indian Trails was founded in 1910 in Owosso by Wayne and Cora Taylor as the Phillips-Taylor Livery Service, whose main business was transporting cargo to and from Durand Union Station and the surrounding Shiawassee County. Cora Taylor was the first woman in the United States to be issued a chauffeur's license. Beginning in the 1910s, the company expanded to include intercity offerings, becoming known as the Owosso-Flint Bus Line and by the 1930s served much of southern Michigan. Many of its buses ran along

US 12 U.S. Route 12 or U.S. Highway 12 (US 12) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway, running from Aberdeen, Washington, to Detroit, Michigan, for almost . The highway has mostly been superseded by Interstate 90 (I-90) ...

, known as "the Old Indian Trail." Reflecting this, in 1935, the company took its current name, Indian Trails. Indian Trails offers charters, casino trips and regular fixed-route daily service. In 2006 Indian Trails assumed responsibility for a number of routes in Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula which

Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. is an American operator of Intercity bus service, intercity bus services. Greyhound operates the largest intercity bus network in the United States, and also operates charter and Amtrak Thruway services, as well as interci ...

had discontinued. Indian Trails' daily scheduled bus service is part of Michigan'
Intercity Bus System
recognized by the Michigan Department of Transportation. In November 2006, Indian Trails, in partnership with Okemos Travel, launched the Michigan Flyer, an express service connecting East Lansing, Jackson, and Ann Arbor with Detroit Metro Airport. In 2012, the Michigan Flyer absorbed the AirRide express service operated by TheRide, and service to Jackson was discontinued. In October 2019, a new stop was added at the

Meijer Meijer Inc. (, ) is an American supercenter chain that primarily operates throughout the Midwestern United States. Its corporate headquarters are in Walker, Michigan. Founded in 1934 as a supermarket chain, Meijer is credited with pioneering ...

store in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

. On March 1, 2023, Indian Trails ended its longtime operating agreement with

, and introduced a new ticketing system. The company also overhauled its route network, reintroducing direct service from

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, among other changes. Chicago service was subsequently discontinued in November 2023.

Current routes

Mainline

Effective November 1, 2023.

Michigan Flyer

Indian Trails operates the Michigan Flyer, an express service connecting

, and

Ann Arbor Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

with

Detroit Metro Airport Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport is the primary international airport serving Detroit and its surrounding metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located in Romulus, a Detroit suburb. It is by far Michigan's busiest ...

. As of March 2024, the service makes twelve round trips daily.

Hytch

In May 2023, Indian Trails introduced Hytch, a shuttle service which provides door-to-door transportation from Lansing-area addresses to the Michigan Flyer stop in downtown East Lansing. Operated by

Via Transportation Via Transportation, Inc. is a technology company that provides software as a service (SaaS) and operations to improve public transportation networks for cities, transit agencies, schools and universities, healthcare providers, and corporations a ...

, Hytch uses minivans, driven by independent contractors (referred to by Via as "driver partners") to provide rides. The service was available exclusively for ticketed Michigan Flyer passengers, who were able to add the service to their trip reservation for $10 extra per ride. Hytch service was suspended on February 10, 2024.

D2A2 and DAX

Indian Trails operates the D2A2 and Detroit Air Xpress (DAX) public transit routes under contract with the

Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan The Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan (RTA) is a public transit agency serving Metro Detroit and the Washtenaw County, Michigan, Ann Arbor area in the U.S. state of Michigan. It operates the QLine, QLINE Tram, streetcar in Detroit, ...

References

External links

*{{Official website
Michigan Flyer home page
Bus transportation in Illinois Bus transportation in Indiana Bus transportation in Michigan Bus transportation in Minnesota Bus transportation in Wisconsin Companies based in Michigan Transportation in Lansing, Michigan Transport companies established in 1910 Intercity bus companies of the United States 1910 establishments in Michigan Transportation companies based in Michigan