The Greyhound: an iconic breed

Greyhound buses: Clarksdale, Mississippi: A Greyhound bus station

Clarksdale, Mississippi: A Greyhound bus station Photograph: Owaki/Kulla/Corbis

Greyhound buses: 1940: Southeastern Greyhound lines

1940: Southeastern Greyhound lines' famous Florida Limited - the Florida Sunshiner Photograph: Lake County Museum/Corbis

Greyhound buses: 1943, Indianapolis, Indiana: Soldiers say good-bye to their girlfriends

1943: Soldiers say goodbye to their girlfriends in front of a bus at a Greyhound station in Indianapolis, Indiana Photograph: Esther Bubley/Anthony Potter Col/Hulton Archive/Getty

Greyhound buses: 1943, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: A woman mops the floor of a Greyhound bus

1943: A Woman mopping the floor of a Greyhound Bus in a garage in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Photograph: Esther Bubley/Corbis

Greyhound buses: 1948: A Greyhound bus drives down Highway 30

1948: A Greyhound bus drives down Highway 30 Photograph: Allan Grant/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image

1948: En route through historic Dixie Photograph: Lake County Museum/Corbis

Greyhound buses: 1961, McComb, US: A police chief beside the 'White waiting room' sign

196: Police Chief George Guy poses beside the white waiting room sign outside the Greyhound bus terminal in McComb, Mississippi Photograph: AP

1987: An American landscape Photograph: Gerard Rancinan/Sygma/Corbis

Greyhound buses: 1990s, Dallas, Texas,: A Greyhound bus station sign

1990s: A Greyhound bus station sign in Dallas, Texas Photograph: Richard Cummins/Corbis

2001: Greyhound's company logo on the side of a Greyhound bus in Chicago, Illinois Photograph: Tim Boyle/Getty Images

Greyhound buses: 2004: Minnesota: A pair of feet stick out from a seat

2004: A pair of feet stick out from a seat as a Greyhound bus passes through the Minnesota countryside Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty

Greyhound buses: 2004: Washington State: A Greyhound bus pulls out of a driveway of a diner

2004: A Greyhound bus pulls out of a driveway of a diner in Washington state Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty

Greyhound buses: Oregon: A woman looks out of the bus window at a small rural Oregon town

2004: A woman looks out of the bus window at a small rural Oregon town on one of the last days the Greyhound bus company continued the route. The iconic bus company stopped servicing over 260 small communities west of Chicago, including Goldendale, in August 2004 Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Greyhound buses: 2008, Richmond, Virginia: A man waits for his daughter at a bus station

2008: A man waits for his daughter at a Greyhound bus station in Richmond, Virginia Photograph: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

Greyhound buses: Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert in 'It Happened One Night'

The bus has featured in countless Hollywood classics, including It Happened One Night, starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert Photograph: Allstar/Columbia/Sportsphoto Ltd/Allstar

Greyhound buses: Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight in Midnight Cowboy

Midnight Cowboy (Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight) Photograph: Sunset Boulevard/Corbis

Of Mice And Men Photograph: The Ronald Grant Archive

Greyhound bus films: Maisie Goes To Reno

Maisie Goes To Reno (starring Ann Sothern) Photograph: The Ronald Grant Archive

The Out of Towners Photograph: The Ronald Grant Archive

Greyhound bus films: Two Tickets To Broadway

... and Two Tickets To Broadway Photograph: The Ronald Grant Archive

FirstGroup today unveiled its first Greyhound coach in the UK, which will connect London with Southampton and Portsmouth. Photograph: Graham Turner/Guardian