Taking a Shuttle Bus from Houston to Galveston is a Historical Ride
Established in 1960, Galveston Shuttle is the oldest shuttle bus from Houston to Galveston. However, while our company boasts half a century of history in the community, the history of shuttle buses goes back much further.
Shuttle bus transportation’s history is tied deeply to the history of public transportation. The very first conveyances for public use were ferries, which are so old they are featured in Greek mythology. As for ground transportation, the first public transport was the stagecoach, first designed for private use in the 13th century.
The first recorded public stagecoach route began in 1610, running from Edinburgh to Leith in Britain. By the mid-17th century, a rudimentary shuttle system for travelers had been established along a string of coaching inns – not unlike our own shuttle bus from Houston to Galveston. However, these routes were quite slow by today’s standards, and the speed remained unchanged until the mid-18th century. Then, new methods for road building and improved stagecoach construction shortened travel times dramatically; what once was a two-day journey from Cambridge to London became only a seven-hour route.
Development in the United States
While ferries and horse carts have been in use in the United States since the early 17th century, what we’d recognize today as buses and shuttles didn’t begin until the 1820s. New York City introduced a system of omnibuses (small carriages that could carry up to fifteen people), and the system became the model of other American cities.
As cities grew, their public transportation grew alongside them. The reliance on horse-powered vehicles diminished with the rise of steam power and later electricity, leading to the development of cable cars and trolleys. Now, of course, our shuttle bus from Houston to Galveston and most other public transportation systems run on gasoline. However, that too may soon change as more and more cities invest in new electrical options and other technologies.
