Motor Bus Society - Joining The MBS

But whatever category you are in, you will enjoy and appreciate your experiences when your knowledge is enhanced through a membership in the Motor Bus Society.

Originally formed in 1948 as the National Motor Bus Association, today The Motor Bus Society joins and serves the needs of people interested in the bus business. The Society’s primary thrust is to preserve bus history through the housing of historical documents, photos and artifacts, through publication of a quarterly magazine Motor Coach Age and through semi-annual conventions and excursions.

The Society incorporated in New Jersey is a non-profit IRS 501(c)(3) organization. Donations to the Society are welcome and are tax deductible. MBS officers and trustees are unpaid volunteers who donate their time and effort to preserve bus history for future generations.

The biggest asset of the Society is the people who are active in the organization. Society members are involved in various subsidiary activities depending on their personal interests. It is these people who can enhance your knowledge. The friendships you make in the Society can last a lifetime. Many of our members are employed in the transportation industry; some of them gained employment through member contacts while others worked in the business before becoming members.

Whatever your personal goals are, if you like buses or wish to know more about them, your best bet is membership in The Motor Bus Society.

Benefits that come with membership…

Motor Coach Age – the Society’s magazine since 1948 specializes in well-documented histories of city transit and intercity bus operations. Over the years MCA has also published profiles of the major and minor bus manufacturers from North America.

Each feature Motor Coach Age article includes early-day and contemporary photo coverage, maps, rosters, service tables and corporate data. In major articles much of the street railway history is of necessity and streetcar track maps are often included. The current scene is not overlooked with special attention to emerging light rail/bus intermodal schemes.

Many back issues of Motor Coach Age and our former magazine Motor Coach Today are still available for purchase. See the Motor Coach Age section of the web site for a complete listing of issues and how to order back issues.

John P. Hoscheck Memorial Transportation Archives

The John P. Hoscheck Memorial Transportation Archives is a first class research facility dedicated to preserving the history of the motor coach & public bus transportation industries. Located in central New Jersey, near the state capital of Trenton, today the Library maintains an extensive collection of materials covering many aspects of the development and operation of buses throughout the current and last centuries. Seen here are a few of the many filing cabinets that house tens of thousands of photos, timetables, catalogued historical documents, planning briefs and news clippings that are systematically arranged for serious study. There is also a large collection of bus-related books, Russell’s Guides and the like.

The MBS Library is always actively seeking donations of items or collections associated with the bus and transportation industries in the US and abroad. Donations to the Library are tax deductible and estate planning assistance is available for the serious collector.

Access to the MBS Library is open to all members of The Motor Bus Society.

MBS Conventions...

As the membership in the Society has grown over the years, the original one-day excursions that typically concentrated on a single operator close to New York City have expanded to become two or three day weekend affairs, geographically dispersed across the U.S. and Canada. Daytime convention activities include visits to as many of the bus and transit operators near the convention site that can be toured in two to three days. Evening convention activities typically include a membership meeting, a swap meet followed by a multi-media presentation featuring buses past and present from the convention area. Currently the Fall Meeting is held at a location in the northeast quadrant of either the U.S. or Canada. The Spring Meeting is typically sited somewhere in the rest of the continent. Locations of MBS conventions over the past 30 years have ranged from Boston to San Diego and from Orlando to Seattle. In the future, convention sites will be concentrated on large cities that have never hosted a MBS convention before.

Interested? A membership application comes next!

Membership Information...

Annual dues in the Motor Bus Society are $40 for residents of the United States, $50 for residents of Canada and $60 for all residents of foreign countries. Payment of annual dues may be made by check or money order in US funds ($) only. (We do accept credit cards and foreign funds as payment for membership dues via PAYPAL - use membership@motorbussociety.org for PAYPAL payments.)

Membership includes an annual subscription to Motor Coach Age, notification of semi-annual conventions and access to the Society’s reference materials at the John P. Hoscheck Memorial Transportation Archives.

How many members in good standing does the MBS currently have?

Presently, the Motor Bus Society has approximately 600+ members and this includes not only members from the USA, but also about 30 from Canada, and 12 from foreign countries.

What does to take to join the MBS?

Membership dues in the Motor Bus Society are $40 per year for residents of the US, $50 (USD) for residents of Canada, $60 (USD) for residents of other countries of than the US and Canada. Membership includes an annual subscription to the Society's publication, Motor Coach Age.

Membership dues are to be mailed to Motor Bus Society, P.O. Box 261, Paramus, NJ 07653-0261. Checks and money orders in US ($) funds will only be accepted, payment via credit card is accepted via PAYPAL.