Orange Belt Stages
 | |
| Founded | November 30, 1935 |
|---|---|
| Defunct | March 2020 |
| Headquarters | Visalia, California,U.S. |
Orange Belt Stageswas a bus company based inVisalia, California,affiliated with theTrailways Transportation System.The company was incorporated on November 30, 1935, and operated scheduled service in California as well as charter services. The company ceased operations in 2020 as a result of theimpact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourism.
History
[edit]The company had its beginning in 1916, when Cyril Haworth began ataxiservice inKern County,California,[1]serving oil field workers inMcKittrick,Taft,andBakersfield.[2]Pickwick Stage Linesleased its Bakersfield–Paso Roblesroute to Haworth in 1930, who was later granted the right to purchase theDelano–Exeterroute (viaDucor,Porterville,andTerra Bella) and to start an Exeter–Hanfordroute (via Visalia) in 1933. The company was incorporated on November 30, 1935.[1]
Cyril "Pop" Haworth had three sons; two assumed control of the company as partners in 1943: Thoburn (T.S.) and Bryan (B.W.).[1]Cyril retired in 1952 but continued to drive buses.[2][3]By 1955, OBS was serving routes totaling 400 mi (640 km).[1]Thoburn ran the Visalia branch while Bryan ran the Bakersfield branch until he was bought out in the mid 1970s. Thoburn's son Michael has run the company from Visalia since 1985.[1]The headquarters was in Visalia with branches in Fresno and Bakersfield.
The nameOrange Belt Stagescame from the route along the foothills of theSierra Nevadamountains, where lush groves oforangesare found.[1]
In May 1969 a bus carrying a group of Girl Scouts from Universal Studios back to Bakersfield crashed and killed 3 young girls and injured many more.[4]
The company owned Orange Belt Adventures, a travel agency offering tours and charters.
Orange Belt previously ran a route from Visalia to Las Vegas; the route was cancelled in 2017.[5]
Orange Belt Stages operated scheduled routes as part of both theTrailways Transportation Systemand theAmtrak Thruwaysystem.
The company ceased operations in 2020 as a result of theimpact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourism.
References
[edit]- ^abcdef"History".Orange Belt Stages. Archived fromthe originalon March 3, 2020.
- ^ab"Cyril Haworth, 92, Stage Line Founder".The Fresno Bee.September 25, 1979.RetrievedNovember 22,2022.
- ^"Helping Hands".Tulare Advance-Register.May 7, 1953.RetrievedNovember 22,2022.
- ^"D.A. Gets Probe Of Bus Crash".The Desert Sun.United Press International.May 14, 1969. p. 23.RetrievedNovember 29,2022– viaUniversity of California, RiversideCalifornia Digital Newspaper Collection.
- ^"Orange Belt Stages to cancel bus service to some valley cities, Las Vegas".The Bakersfield Californian.July 28, 2017.RetrievedOctober 16,2019.
External links
[edit]- "Home page".Orange Belt Stages. Archived fromthe originalon March 3, 2020.
- "Orange Belt Stages".Canadian Public Transportation Discussion Board wiki.