From Greater Lansing Convention and Visitors Bureau
100 Years of Service Recognized
The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and the Michigan State Transportation Commission has honored Indian Trails, an Owosso-based motor coach company, for its 100th anniversary.
“Indian Trails is an important part of the transportation network in our state,” MDOT Chief Deputy Director Jacqueline Shinn said during the brief ceremony in which Indian Trails President Gordon Mackay was presented with a plaque recognizing the company’s service.
Shinn noted the third-generation family-owned motorcoach business carries one million passengers and travels four million miles annually. She also singled out the company’s Michigan Flyer service serving East Lansing, Jackson and Ann Arbor to and from Detroit Metro Airport.
“Since it began in 2006, Michigan Flyer has continued to grow with 270,000 riders utilizing the unique service,” Shinn said.
“We are proud of the relationship Indian Trails has and continues to have with MDOT,” Mackay said, commenting on the recognition. He accepted the plaque “on behalf of our 135 dedicated employees.”
Founded in 1910 by Cora and Wayne Taylor of Owosso, Michigan, Indian Trails was originally known as the Phillips-Taylor Livery Service and specialized in moving passengers and freight from the local Durand Union Train Depot to points around Shiawassee County. True pioneers in their field, the Taylors actually built some of their first autobuses.
A picture of Cora Taylor hangs in the Michigan Transportation Hall of Honor as one of the leaders in transportation in Michigan.
Today, Indian Trails operates some 54 state-of-the-art coaches from three modern facilities in Owosso, Kalamazoo, and Metro Detroit with daily services between Bay City and Chicago, as well as routes between Grand Rapids and St. Ignace, Bay City and St. Ignace, Lansing and St. Ignace, and all of the Upper Peninsula. For more information, visit www.indiantrails.com.
Indian Trails President Gordon Mackay (left) accepts a plaque honoring Indian Trails for 100 years of service from Michigan Department of Transportation Chief Deputy Director Jacqueline Shinn (center) and Michigan Transportation Commission Chairman Ted Wahby (right)