Blue Bird Corporation was founded in 1932 by Albert L. Luce, owner of a Ford dealership. The name “Blue Bird” was borrowed from the signs (pictures of blue or yellow birds) used by teachers to divide schoolchildren into groups before classes appeared.
School buses were the first to appear in the program, and in 1937 Blue Bird began installing steel bodies on chassis instead of the then common wooden ones.
Two years later, at a conference of manufacturers, the company’s engineers suggested that school buses be painted yellow, which later became the color of choice, first in the U.S. and then all over the world.
After World War II, the states adopted a program to consolidate elementary schools, which prompted an increase in school bus production, and Blue Bird became the largest manufacturer. At the 1948 Paris Bus Show, the company presented its first cabover bus. It became the basis for the widely-known All American model, which was also used in regular service.
In 1952 the first body company began producing its own chassis.
Blue Bird became an international company with the opening of a branch in Canada in 1958. Seven years later production began in Guatemala. Moreover, the bodies were installed not only on their own chassis or typical chassis. In the late 1960s they were mounted on little-used in the States chassis of Mercedes-Benz, Isuzu, Hino and Toyota.
In 1975, the B-class models were presented, the small Micro Bird and large Mini Bird, both on conventional van chassis. They were produced for almost 35 years, with only the basic chassis changing.
In 1988, the cabover All American made the TC 1000, TC 2000 and TC 3000 series with a refreshed design and new units.
In 1991, the first school bus, running on liquefied natural gas (CNG) was presented. In 1994, together with Westinghouse Electronic Systems an electric school bus for California was presented. In 2004, the bonneted Blue Bird Vision, produced without any third-party companies, was introduced. Three years later, the company gave up producing all types except school buses.
In October 2009, Blue Bird formed a joint venture with Canadian school bus manufacturer Girardin Minibus.
By the third millennium, Blue Bird had become a corporation, 42.5% owned by the Volvo Group. Today, there are four school models in the program – the bonneted MicroBird, Vision, and the cabover All American FE and RE.