The Henry Ford acquires first steel-bodied school bus

Blue Bird No. 1 was the first steel-bodied school bus built by Albert Luce Sr. in 1927. Luce was the owner of Ford dealerships in Fort Valley and Perry, Ga., when one of his customers requested a vehicle to transport workers to a cement plant. Luce bought a wood-bodied bus that he sold to this customer, but the wood deteriorated before the customer could finish paying for the vehicle.

Luce investigated ways of building a better bus and constructed a body using steel angles and channels, steel sheets, wood and canvas. He then mounted it to a 1927 Ford Model T chassis. This new bus was sold to Frank Slade of Marshallville, Ga. to be used as a school bus.

“Blue Bird embodies the ingenuity and resourcefulness of one man,” says Patricia Mooradian, president of the institution. “By taking one innovation, the Model T, and using it as the foundation for his school bus, Mr. Luce changed the paradigm of transportation for school-age children in terms of safety and reliability. Within eight years, all major school bus manufacturers were producing steel-body buses.”

Blue Bird No. 1 will go on display in Henry Ford Museum in May. For more information, visit www.TheHenryFord.org.