In 1929 long-distance buses replaced the electric interurban for travel between Ann Arbor and other cities. The first interurban in the state had linked Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti in 1891. Junius Beal, UM Regent and one of the main stockholders, explained that it was greatly helped by the fact that “Ann Arbor had 3,000 boys and not enough girls; Ypsilanti had 1,000 girls at the Normal College [now EMU] and not enough boys.” Interurbans ran east on Packard to Detroit and west on Huron to Jackson every half hour or hour.
The era of the interurban ended due to com- petition from buses, autos, and trucks. Interstate buses used the old interurban station until it was demolished in 1939 and a modern bus depot built in 1940.