Private company

Indian Trails

Intercity bus operator based in Michigan

Indian Trails is an intercity bus operator primarily serving the U.S. state of Michigan, with routes also serving Wisconsin and Minnesota. Indian Trails is based in Owosso, Michigan, with offices in Romulus, East Lansing, and Kalamazoo.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1910Founded1
Indian Trails 2020 Prevost X3-45 MI-162
Photo: 42-BRT, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons4

Indian Trails is an intercity bus operator primarily serving the U.S. state of Michigan, with routes also serving Wisconsin and Minnesota. Indian Trails is based in Owosso, Michigan, with offices in Romulus, East Lansing, and Kalamazoo.2

The story

Indian Trails was founded in 1910 in Owosso by Wayne and Cora Taylor as the Phillips-Taylor Livery Service, whose main business was transporting cargo to and from Durand Union Station and the surrounding Shiawassee County. Cora Taylor was the first woman in the United States to be issued a chauffeur's license. Beginning in the 1910s, the company expanded to include intercity offerings, becoming known as the Owosso-Flint Bus Line and by the 1930s served much of southern Michigan. Many of its buses ran along US 12, known as "the Old Indian Trail." Reflecting this, in 1935, the company took its current name, Indian Trails.

Indian Trails offers charters, casino trips and regular fixed-route daily service. In 2006, Indian Trails assumed responsibility for a number of routes in Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula which Greyhound Lines had discontinued.

Indian Trails' daily scheduled bus service is part of Michigan's Intercity Bus System recognized by the Michigan Department of Transportation.

In November 2006, Indian Trails, in partnership with Okemos Travel, launched the Michigan Flyer, an express service connecting East Lansing, Jackson, and Ann Arbor with Detroit Metro Airport. In 2012, the Michigan Flyer absorbed the AirRide express service operated by TheRide, and service to Jackson was discontinued. In October 2019, a new stop was added at the Meijer store in Brighton.

On March 1, 2023, Indian Trails ended its longtime operating agreement with Greyhound Lines, and introduced a new ticketing system. The company also overhauled its route network, reintroducing direct service from Detroit to Chicago, among other changes. Chicago service was subsequently discontinued in November 2023.

From Wikipedia’s article on Indian Trails, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Timeline

  1. 1910Founded Founded1

Funding

Where the company's money came from, by calendar year: private offerings filed with the SEC, federal grants, loans, contracts and other assistance from USAspending.gov, and PPP loans from the SBA. Each bar links to the records below.

Money received by year$3.4M 2020–2021
Money received by yearMoney received by year, 2020–2021: $3.4M in all. PPP loans $3.4M.$0$500K$1M$1.5M$2M2020 · PPP loans: $1.7M20202021 · PPP loans: $1.7M2021
Figures by year
YearPPP loansTotal
2021$1.7M$1.7M
2020$1.7M$1.7M

PPP loans

Paycheck Protection Program loans of $150,000 and up, approved April 2020 to July 2021, from the SBA5. Matched to this company by name and state.

  1. Apr 12, 2020$1.7M PPP loan (first draw) from The Huntington National Bank5To INDIAN TRAILS, INCORPORATED, Owosso MI; $1.8M forgiven Oct 15, 2021
  2. Jan 30, 2021$1.7M PPP loan (second draw) from The Huntington National Bank5To INDIAN TRAILS INC., Owosso MI; $1.7M forgiven Jun 22, 2022

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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