Vernoy Franklin, along with his wife Annabelle, began his bus business in 1953 after serving in the Army during WWII. Vernoy started with four school buses, which he soon grew to 23, serving Northern Virginia private schools. Shortly after, Vernoy began purchasing charter coaches, and Franklin Charter bus was born.

 

Franklin Charter became a hard working family business, highly respected by the bus industry and the communities it served in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, DC. Franklin buses proudly carried Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, church groups, school groups, and all other businesses accross the United States and Canada.

 

The company continued to grow in size and respect with the help of Vernoy and Annabelle's three sons, Wayne, Jerry, and Mark, and eventually their first grandson, David. Together the family maintained a 32 bus fleet with 58 employees. Corprorate decisions were made at the kitchen table, not a board room, and all employees became a part of the family, many times sitting at the Franklin's dinner table after coming in from a chartered trip.

 

After tragically losing his wife Annabelle to ovarian cancer, his son Wayne to brain cancer, and his son Jerry, Vernoy decided to sell the company to Martz Bus Lines in 1995. Mark and David continued to work with Martz until Vernoy's passing in 2002.

 

After a brief hiatus from the business, Mark and David decided it was time to go back to what they both knew and loved most- owning and operating their own bus line. In 2011, Franklin Charter Bus was reborn, following the same work ethic, business morals, integrity, and family values instilled by Vernoy and Annabelle Franklin.

 

The Franklin Charter Bus Story