Starting with a horse-drawn wagon in 1915, Kickert School Bus Line has been transporting students to school for a full century. Have a look at the company’s vehicles of yesterday and today.
PHOTOS: Illinois school bus company turns 100
Kickert School Bus Line’s first “school bus” was a horse-drawn wagon fitted with board seats. Richard and Bessie Kickert launched the business in 1915.
In the 1920s, Richard and Bessie Kickert moved the company from South Holland to Lynwood, Illinois (shown here). Kickert is still in the same location today.
Kickert’s Vehicle No. 1 and its dual horsepower took part in a parade in May.
Kickert also showed off this vintage school bus, a 1945 Ford with a Superior body, during the recent parade.
Kickert now has a fleet of 150 school buses. The company transports 12,000 students daily, logging 2.5 million miles per year.
Throughout its history, Kickert has been at the forefront of using alternative fuels. The contractor has operated buses on compressed natural gas, propane, biodiesel and hybrid-electric power. The bus pictured here, at a race track several years ago, was reportedly the first hybrid school bus sold in Illinois.
Initially, Kickert’s Vehicle No. 1 transported students to just one place and back: McKinley School in South Holland, Illinois.
Vehicle No. 1 is seen here with a later model of yellow bus from the Kickert fleet.
Kickert has a total staff of 180 employees, 160 of whom are school bus drivers.