Historic local photos: Bus travel in a earlier time

Mark Lane, The Daytona Beach News-Journal
·1 min read
"Roy Miller, about 1925, standing by his Model T Ford Depot Hack. Part of the 'Little Black Bus' fleet, transporting passengers between Daytona, Daytona Beach and Seabreeze. A banner on the other side states '10 cents all the way.' " writes Robert Martin.
"Roy Miller, about 1925, standing by his Model T Ford Depot Hack. Part of the 'Little Black Bus' fleet, transporting passengers between Daytona, Daytona Beach and Seabreeze. A banner on the other side states '10 cents all the way.' " writes Robert Martin.

One advantage of living in a tourist town was that Daytona Beach and surrounding cities needed to provide transportation for visitors. Buses appeared on city streets not long after cars did.

Robert Martin sent The News-Journal an excellent photograph of part of the Little Black Bus fleet that moved passengers around the Triple Cities: Daytona, Daytona Beach and Seabreeze in the late 1910s and 1920s.

“Ride in the little black bus between Daytona and Daytona Beach. We run on time, rain or shine. Leave Daytona post office on hour and half hour,” the bus line’s ads in the 1919 Daytona Morning Journal promised passengers. The service operated until around 1928, when Daytona Motor Lines gained the city’s exclusive bus franchise.

Daytona Beach ran separate buses for Black and White passengers but combined the services with segregated seating in 1950. After 1956, the city stopped requiring Black passengers to sit in the back of the bus.

— Mark Lane

Gordon Parks photographed Daytona Beach's black community in 1943. This photo is of a driver for one of the city's segregated buses.
Gordon Parks photographed Daytona Beach's black community in 1943. This photo is of a driver for one of the city's segregated buses.
The early omnibus was a strange-looking vehicle. Here is a loaded bus from the early 20th century on a Daytona Beach road.
The early omnibus was a strange-looking vehicle. Here is a loaded bus from the early 20th century on a Daytona Beach road.
The Daytona-Seabreeze bus around 1913.
The Daytona-Seabreeze bus around 1913.
The Daytona Highlands bus ready to take prospective buyers to the subdivision in 1926 during the great Florida Land Boom.
The Daytona Highlands bus ready to take prospective buyers to the subdivision in 1926 during the great Florida Land Boom.

Do you have vintage photos to share?

Do you have old photos that depict the people, landmarks and story of Volusia and Flagler counties? Don't leave them hidden away in boxes and albums. Send a scan or photo to mark.lane@news-jrnl.com for possible use on future historic photo pages.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Historic local photos: Bus travel in earlier days