What was the name of the first school bus, introduced by the Shakers in 1827?

The first school bus, introduced by the Shakers in 1827, was called a school wagon.

The Shakers were a communal religious movement whose settlements operated schools and organized daily life collectively. In the early 19th century, transporting pupils was very different from using a standardized motor vehicle. A school wagon was a horse-drawn vehicle used to carry children between their homes and school, making it an early ancestor of the modern school bus.

The term “school bus” is therefore partly retrospective in this historical question. The Shaker vehicle was not a gasoline-powered bus and did not have the safety equipment, enclosed body, or standardized construction associated with later American school buses. It was part of a broader tradition of adapting wagons and carriages for student transportation.

Later horse-drawn vehicles included open farm-wagon-style “kid hacks.” In 1892, Indiana-based Wayne Works built a purpose-designed horse-drawn “school car,” with perimeter-mounted bench seats, a roof, and a rear entrance. Motorized school buses emerged afterward, while national design standards arrived in 1939.