You Can Thank Mercedes-Benz for Your Kid's Bus Ride To School

Alex Reale
· 3 min read
Riding a bus is an egalitarian affair—a big group of people all sharing the same space, traveling to the same location, and presumably feeling the same bumps from an unwieldy suspension.
Taking a bus is often among the cheaper transportation options, whether you’re trying to get from downtown to the suburbs or from
Florida to New York
. A surprising brand is responsible for the motorized bus as we know it today: luxury staple
Mercedes-Benz
was at the forefront of its invention.
Mercedes-Benz was a driving force behind the creation of the motorized bus.

Early days of the bus

In January of 1886, an inventor named Carl Benz submitted a patent for a “vehicle powered by a gas engine.” According to
Daimler
, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz, by 1888 Benz’s wife and sons were taking a three-wheeled motor vehicle on one of the world’s first road trips. The rest, of course, is history.
Benz could tell his invention was going to change the world, but he needed a PR campaign. He decided to expand his motorized vehicle to accommodate more riders, and the predecessor of the modern bus was born in March of 1895.
Daimler explained that this “bus” was actually a “converted passenger car model,” but it fit eight people. This was enough to get the wheels rolling on this interesting new concept.
Let Jerry find your price in only 45 seconds
No spam · No long forms · No fees
Find insurance savings

Mercedes-Benz spurred the growth of bus transportation

MORE: Accessories for Your Mercedes: Must-Haves
In the last five years of the 19th century, the world was introduced to Benz’s bus. Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft, later Daimler AG, began churning out vehicles to ferry people around in cities like Munich and Berlin. The depictions on the Mercedes-Benz site are charming: rows of picnic benches adorn the roof of what looks like an old school fire engine, and on the back is a spiral staircase straight out of a Disney movie. You could get where you were going, but not very fast or safely. 
It was a bumpy road as buses began to transport people and mail. Faulty tires caused issues, and finding fuel was a constant concern. But by the turn of the century, they finally had it figured out, and buses became commonplace throughout Germany and elsewhere. The 20th century ushered in a new era of bus transportation that has yet to be supplanted.

Thanks to Benz, buses are now widespread

MORE: The Car That’s Worth $42 Million, but Will Never Be Sold
Thanks to Carl Benz and his successors at DMG, buses are a fixture of modern life. They help make road trips affordable, give children reliable rides to school, and take us on tours of the countryside. They even star in books—The Magic School Bus, anyone? And when one pulls up in traffic next to a C-Class, they’ll have something in common.
Looking to insure your personal Mercedes-Benz vehicle? Try
Jerry
. It’s this simple: download the Jerry app or go to getjerry.com. In less than 45 seconds, Jerry collects all of your information from your existing insurer.
Choose from competitive quotes from 50+ top insurance companies and Jerry takes care of the rest—securing your new policy and helping you cancel your old one. No long forms. No calling around. No hard work. Just savings. The average Jerry user saves $879 a year on car insurance.

Easiest way to compare and buy car insurance

√
No long forms
√
No spam or unwanted phone calls
√
Quotes from top insurance companies
Find insurance savings