Duquesne Motor Coach Lines, Inc.

Acquired by PAT on April 15, 1964

Duquesne Motor Coach was another bus company that was preceded by a rail operation. The Duquesne and Dravosburg Street Railway (D&DSRCo) existed from 1908 until 1928. The D&DSRCo operation was particularly lackluster and was frequently the object of Duquesne's municipal dislike, especially after the lone trolley derailed and was destroyed by a PRR freight train. Bus service was started by the Ziegler family but was shortly sold to James Duncan and Rudolph Schreiber who formed Duquesne Motor Coach in 1929. Two new routes, Duquesne - Homestead and Duquesne to just short of Bettis Field in West Mifflin, were started. The Duquesne-Dravosburg route which roughly duplicated the car line began in 1937. Occasional service was operated to the South Park Fairgrounds, to the Irvin Works and to the mills in Homestead. Service was extended from Duquesne to Duquesne Place in 1940 with summer runs to Kennywood Park. The Dravosburg terminus was soon replaced by extending the line to McKeesport.

Patronage dropped rapidly after 1950 and the company went downhill fast after the City of Duquesne began an urban renewal project in 1957 which further cut into ridership. The Munhall route was sold to Bamford and the Irvin Works route to DeBolt. Suppliers withheld credit and parts and by 1964 just one of the fleet of 12 FitzJohns received a PAT number. The Duquesne Motor Coach garage was not acquired by PAT.

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This page was updated on June 25, 2008