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This is the second installment of my community column about the Warren Transportation Company and my dad, Haven X. Mumford.
World War II was the high point for the Warren Transportation Company in terms of its service to the community. It had to handle a burgeoning number of riders while facing all sorts of shortages including rubber, fuel and equipment. It had to deal with the Department of Transportation for allocations of any vital supplies, including gasoline. Often requests were denied.
Civilians experienced gas rationing and tire shortages, and had to crowd aboard the city buses either to get to work at the local businesses and factories for defense work or just to get to where they needed to go. Women were hired as drivers, since so many men had gone off to war.
The crowding aboard the buses was so intense that some of the standing patrons had to stand in the step wells to make more room. They would have to hop off to allow others to board or get off, then hop back on.
A partial solution to the crowding was twofold: Rather than a half hour schedule, the schedule was modified during peak hours to every 15 minutes. The other utilized what were called “trippers.” A second bus, usually some ancient wheezer that should have been relegated to the scrap yard, followed directly behind the lead bus. It would pick up the overflow of riders.
In spite of the tremendously increased patronage, reserve capital couldn’t be built up because government taxes took most of the profits.
Gasoline was in short supply, and no new equipment or natural rubber tires could be purchased. Used and resurrectable equipment had to be bought. Tires were either recapped or a new type of tire could be had via government allocation. These tires were called synthetic. They were unreliable. My dad called those tires “sympathetic.”
A gigantic old Mack bus was purchased for the factory runs. If you ever saw the movie “It Happened One Night,” you would see what kind it was. It had a huge, horizontal wooden steering wheel. The assigned driver, “Shorty” Long, stood most of the time that he drove that bus, and he had to practically run around the wheel when he made a turn. Normal seats were removed, and stand-sit wooden seats were substituted. The riders half stood, half sat on these close-together gawdawful excuses for seats. Passenger capacity was more than doubled as a result.
After numerous trips to Washington, another partial solution to the equipment problem was granted by the government. It was a tractor trailer setup. The tractor, or truck part, was on older GMC with a fifth wheel. The trailer was an old car carrier that had been completely enclosed in plywood and fitted with seats, a few windows, a door, and an oil stove. It required two people to operate this contraption – the driver, and a person to operate the door, take the fares, and tend to the oil stove.
Early in 1945, when it became apparent that the war was winding down, the government permitted the company to purchase eight new modern diesel buses from GM. It was a real cause for celebration, despite the fact that the buses were painted in a drab gray with gray wheels and a white top. These paints were the only ones to be had, since pigmented paints were not yet available. This scheme set the stage for the rest of the fleet. So we bade fond adieu to those beautiful pre-war colors of cream, blue, orange and silver. A bit later, when pigmented paints became available, a maroon trim was added to the sides of the buses. It cheered things up just a bit.
The post war years started out prosperously. New equipment was purchased, and charter operations were added. But as new cars became available, and people wanted the privacy of their own autos, patronage of the buses slowly dwindled. To kind of rub salt in the wounds of decreased patronage, people who had cars would pick up those who were waiting for the bus at the designated stops. They were essentially taking money from the company. Even though buses offered independence to kids who could go anywhere in town that they chose, with no parental involvement, it was hardly enough patronage to stem the tide.
Warren Transportation held out until 1967 when the city of Warren agreed to lease the company’s equipment and subsidize the company’s losses. Finally, in 1969, the company was sold, and my father went into retirement.
Warren, Ohio, was one of the last cities to have complete transportation; most cities ceased operations between 1964 and 1966.
Mass transportation as I once knew it is not a desirable or profitable method of moving people today. People want their privacy and independence. However, with future environmental concerns, and our increasingly crowded streets and highways, there just may be a resurgence of bus transportation. Soccer moms, beware.
Mumford, of Warren, is a community columnist. Email him at columns@tribtoday.com