Orange Belt Stages
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Orange Belt Stages (OBS) is a bus company based in Visalia, California. OBS was incorporated on November 30, 1935, and offers charters anywhere in the U.S. and Canada, as well as scheduled runs in California and to Las Vegas, Nevada.
[edit] History
The company had its beginning in 1916, when Cyril Haworth began a taxi service in Kern County, California. Cyril "Pop" Haworth had 3 sons, two of whom ran the company. Thoburn (T.S.) ran the Visalia branch while Bryan ran the Bakersfield branch until he was bought out in the mid 1970s. T.S.' son Michael has run the company from Visalia since 1980. The headquarters is in Visalia with branches in Fresno and Bakersfield.
The name Orange Belt Stages came from the route along the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, where lush groves of oranges are found.
[edit] Routes
Currently, service is offered on four routes:
- Hanford-Bakersfield (via Goshen, Visalia, Farmersville, Exeter, Lindsay and Porterville)
- Visalia-Santa Maria (via Hanford, Lemoore, Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo)
- Porterville-Fresno (via Lindsay, Tulare, Visalia, Dinuba, Reedley, Parlier and Sanger)
- Fresno-Bakersfield-Las Vegas (also serving Delano, Mojave, Boron and Barstow)
Orange Belt Stages connects with Greyhound at various points, particularly Fresno, Bakersfield and Goshen Junction (just west of Visalia). OBS buses also connect with Amtrak trains in Paso Robles, Merced and Bakersfield and are considered part of the Amtrak Thruway system.
Orange Belt Stages also owns Orange Belt Adventures, a travel agency offering tours and charters.
