School buses have become an iconic symbol of childhood in countries around the world. With their distinct yellow paint, large size, and rows of seats, they shuttle millions of children to and from school each day. But school buses weren’t always yellow. When did school buses first take on their now ubiquitous yellow hue? To understand the history behind the color of school buses, we need to go back to the early days of student transportation in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The beginning of student transportation
In the early days of public education in the United States, most students had to get themselves to school by walking or riding a horse. For those in rural areas, schools were built within walking distance, usually a few miles from students’ homes. Wealthier families could afford to buy horses or carriages to transport their children. But as schools consolidated and students traveled longer distances, there was a need for mass student transportation.
One of the first documented cases of student transportation was in 1869 in Three Rivers, Michigan. A furniture maker named Wayne Works started a service where he would drive a horse-drawn cart with wooden benches along a route, picking up children for school. This pioneered what would become the iconic school bus route. Other coaches, farmers, and enterprising individuals soon offered similar services, using wagons, carts, and sleighs depending on the weather and terrain.
Early school buses
In the early 1900s, motorized vehicles were just starting to become available. School buses evolved from basic motorized carts and trucks to more sophisticated vehicles with enclosed passenger sections. These early school buses were simply ordinary trucks or buses that were repainted and retrofitted with rows of seats and roofs.
One of the first “real” school buses was developed by the Blue Bird Company in 1927. They created a bus that was specifically designed for student transportation, rather than retrofitting existing vehicles. The large, spacious buses had high ceilings, wide seats, and improved suspension for a smoother ride. Window design evolved to improve visibility and prevent students from putting their arms out the windows.
Adoption of yellow color
In those very early days, school buses were painted whatever color the owner chose, or simply kept the original truck or bus color. They sported a wide variety of colors like black, brown, orange, olive green, gray or blue.
But in 1939, a conference endorsed standardizing the color of school buses to yellow. Dr. Frank Cyr, a professor at Teachers College at Columbia University in New York City, organized a conference to establish national school bus standards, including recommendations on vehicle design, operation, and color.
The conference recommended yellow as the standard color for a few key reasons:
- Yellow is a noticeable color that stands out from other vehicles on the road.
- The yellow hue provides high visibility in daylight and dusk.
- Yellow paint is relatively inexpensive compared to other color options.
Their recommendation for yellow became an informal standard. By the 1950s, almost all new school buses were painted National School Bus Glossy Yellow. In addition to the iconic yellow, the conference recommended using black lettering for the signage.
Regulations and standards
While the 1939 conference recommended yellow as the standard, it wasn’t officially codified into law for another few decades. Here are some key events in yellow school bus regulations and standards:
- In 1974, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued standards requiring school buses to be painted National School Bus Yellow.
- In 1977, this became an official national standard when the color was added to the National Bureau of Standards’ Standard No. 595A Color Specification.
- All 50 U.S. states now have regulations requiring school buses to be painted yellow.
Why are school buses still yellow today?
While school bus design has evolved over the past century to incorporate seat belts, stop arms, and other new safety features, the iconic yellow color has stuck around. Using a uniform yellow for all school buses turned out to be a smart decision for several reasons that still hold true today:
Visibility
Yellow is a bright, attention-grabbing color that makes the bus stand out. This helps motorists and pedestrians see the bus coming from farther away. Increased visibility improves safety for children getting on and off the bus. Yellow provides good daytime visibility but isn’t so bright that it causes glare at night.
Recognizability
Since all school buses are painted the same shade of yellow, the color instantly communicates that the vehicle is a school bus. People know to watch for children getting on and off when they see those iconic yellow buses. The uniform color helps young children easily identify their bus as well.
Cost
Yellow is relatively inexpensive paint color compared to alternatives. School districts can save money by using yellow versus more expensive paint options. This helps control costs and allows more money to be directed into important maintenance, safety, and driver training expenses.
Tradition
After nearly a century of yellow school buses, the color has become a long-standing American tradition. Generations of children associating yellow buses with going to school has made it a nostalgic part of many people’s childhoods. Maintaining the yellow color preserves this tradition for new generations of kids.
How yellow became the global standard
While yellow school buses originated in America, they can now be spotted transporting students around the world. Here’s how yellow became the international norm for school buses:
- Countries in Europe, Asia, and South America imported used yellow American school buses rather than investing in new buses in other colors.
- As more countries established school bus programs, they followed the existing yellow standard rather than picking a different color.
- Large American school bus manufacturers expanded internationally. Their yellow American buses dominated the market, establishing yellow as the norm.
- Regional organizations adopted yellow as the recommended best practice, encouraging member countries to follow suit.
While not every country uses the exact National School Bus Glossy Yellow, most paint their school buses a similar bright yellow shade. This uniformity makes school buses instantly recognizable around the world.
School bus colors by country
| Country | Standard School Bus Color |
|---|---|
| United States | National School Bus Glossy Yellow |
| Canada | National School Bus Yellow |
| Australia | Golden Yellow |
| New Zealand | New Zealand Yellow |
| UK | UK Standard Yellow |
| Mexico | Yellow |
| China | Yellow |
Exceptions to the yellow rule
While yellow is overwhelmingly the global norm, there are a few exceptions where school buses are painted a different color:
- In Ireland, school buses are a distinct green and yellow color.
- School buses in India exhibit more color variation, including green, yellow, orange, or white.
- In Egypt, blue school buses are more common.
- In Israel, school buses are painted orange.
But these exceptions are relatively rare. Yellow remains the standard in most places. Even where other colors are present, yellow is typically still the most widely used school bus color.
The future of yellow school buses
Even with trends toward greener vehicles and technologies like self-driving cars, the yellow school bus looks here to stay. Some predict yellow will still dominate school bus fleets for years to come for several reasons:
- Electric and alternative fuel buses are still being painted yellow to preserve the recognizable connection to education.
- Self-driving school bus pilots are using the yellow color to visually signal their purpose on the road.
- Nostalgia and tradition will likely motivate maintaining yellow coloring.
- Safety data continues to support the visibility benefits of yellow.
While pupil transportation will modernize, don’t expect the yellow school bus to fade away from our roads and memories anytime soon. The color is simply too ingrained in our perceptions of childhood and schooling. Yellow buses will likely continue transporting kids to school for generations to come.
Conclusion
The iconic yellow American school bus dates back to 1939 when transportation directors intentionally chose that hue for visibility and cost savings. Yellow gained widespread adoption over subsequent decades thanks to regulations and manufacturing standards. It became an internationally recognized symbol of student transportation. While alternative fuel technologies and automation may change bus design, yellow will likely maintain its strong association with shuttling kids to school for years to come.
