Back in 1944, Wisconsin farmers Lyle and Ellen Lamers founded Lamers Bus Lines. They started with a single school bus and served the Grant School District and Nicolet High School (which later became the West De Pere School District). For the next six years they took care of the farm and took care of the Grant School District. In 1950, the company continued to grow when Lamers began providing transportation for the Ashwaubenon School District. And by 1960, Lamers became transportation provider for the Green Bay Area School District.
In 1966, the company opened their corporate headquarters in Ashwaubenon by the Austin Straubel International Airport. In the coming years, Lamers would also open terminals in West De Pere and Wisconsin Rapids.
The first coach the family bought was a used Greyhound PD 3751 in the 1960s and Lamers Bus Lines began offering motor coach charters. In 1974, they started buying new coaches, and for the next decade, added new vehicles to its fleet each year.
Through the next two decades, Lamers Bus Lines kept growing. In November 1980, Interstate Commerce Commission granted Lamers Bus Lines permission to transport charter bus tours anywhere in the continental United States as well as legal authority and permits to organize group tours and sell on a per-person basis.
Since 1972, Lyle’s sons, Allen and Kevin, along with their children have taken over the day to day responsibilities of running the company. Lyle Lamers passed Dec. 30, 2012 at the age of 97. He had continued to drive bus until age 72 and was still active in the company well after that.
Now, 80 years later, Lamers Bus Lines is Wisconsin’s largest family-owned bus company, still operating with the same community-mindedness as at the beginning. Lamers has 40 locations in Wisconsin, as well as locations in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and Central Florida. Lamers Bus Lines has expanded its services over the years and now includes: school district bus contracts, motorcoach bus charters, one-day and multi-day tour vacations through Lamers Tour & Travel, Daily intercity bus routes through Lamers Connect, specialized medical transportation, Lamers Limousine Service, Packer game day shuttle routes, new and used bus sales, and more.