Portal:Buses

The Buses Portal

A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for charter purposes, or through private ownership. Although buses typically carry between 30 and 100 passengers, some buses have a capacity of up to 300 passengers. The most common type is the single-deck rigid bus, with double-decker and articulated buses carrying larger loads, and midibuses and minibuses carrying smaller loads. Coaches are used for longer-distance services. Many types of buses, such as city transit buses and inter-city coaches, charge a fare. Other types, such as elementary or secondary school buses or shuttle buses within a post-secondary education campus, are free. In many jurisdictions, bus drivers require a special large vehicle licence above and beyond a regular driving license.

Buses may be used for scheduled bus transport, scheduled coach transport, school transport, private hire, or tourism; promotional buses may be used for political campaigns and others are privately operated for a wide range of purposes, including rock and pop band tour vehicles.

Horse-drawn omnibuses were used from the 1820s, followed by steam buses in the 1830s, and electric trolleybuses in 1882. The first internal combustion engine buses, or motor buses, were used in 1895. Recently, interest has been growing in hybrid electric buses, fuel cell buses, and electric buses, as well as buses powered by compressed natural gas or biodiesel. As of the 2010s, bus manufacturing is increasingly globalised, with the same designs appearing around the world. (Full article...)

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A 2021 Prevost X3-45 (1300) on the East Midtown-bound QM44 in the Queens Midtown Tunnel in July 2022

The Q64, Q74, QM4 and QM44 bus routes constitute a public transit line in Queens, New York City. The east-to-west Q64 route runs primarily on Jewel Avenue operating between the Forest Hills–71st Avenue subway station in Forest Hills and 164th Street in Electchester. The Q74 limited-stop route parallels the Q64 between the Forest Hills–71st Avenue station and 164th Street, before continuing north and east to Queensborough Community College in Bayside, Queens. The QM4 route is an express bus route running from Midtown Manhattan to Electchester running via Sixth Avenue in Manhattan and Jewel Avenue in Queens. The QM44 route is an express bus route running from Midtown Manhattan to Electchester via Third Avenue in Manhattan and Jewel Avenue in Queens.

The Q64 (formerly the Q65A), QM4 and QM44 were originally operated by Queens-Nassau Transit Lines, Queens Transit Corporation, and Queens Surface Corporation from 1951 to 2005; they are now operated by MTA Regional Bus Operations under the MTA Bus Company brand. (Full article...)

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JR Bus collectively refers to the bus operations of Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies in Japan. JR Bus is operated by six regional companies, with JR East and JR West operating two each while the others operate one each. JR Bus companies provide regional, long distance, and chartered bus services. (

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General images

The following are images from various bus-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1An Indonesian intercity bus, Sinar Jaya double decker Mercedes-Benz OC 500 RF 2542 bus travelling across Java, connecting Surabaya and Jakarta (from Intercity bus service)
Image 2VDL Synergy double-decker bus in Norrtälje, Sweden (from Double-decker bus)
Image 3Egged Neoplan N122 Skyliner (from Double-decker bus)
Image 4Solaris Vacanza 13, A 3-axle Solaris coach manufactured between 2001 and 2010 in San Sebastian, Spain (from Coach (bus))
Image 5In many cities, traditional bus service is being augmented by bus rapid transit. Pictured is the Brisbane Metro (from Transit bus)
Image 6New Routemaster operating in London (from Public transport bus service)
Image 7Volvo B7RLE low floor bus in Brazil (from Low-floor bus)
Image 8Trolleybus in Castellón de la Plana (from Trolleybus)
Image 9A 1965 Mercedes-Benz LPO 322 Bruck in Karlskrona, Sweden (2005) (from Bus)
Image 10MAZ-251 in Minsk, Belarus (from Coach (bus))
Image 11Preserved 1965 AEC Regal VI formerly operated by the Metropolitan Transport Trust in Perth, Australia (from Bus)
Image 12Gothenburg - Bi-articulated Volvo bus (from Bi-articulated bus)
Image 13Modern Switch Mobility EiV 22 double-decker bus operated by KSRTC in Kerala, India (from Double-decker bus)
Image 14Geumgang Express Hyundai Universe in South Korea. (from Intercity bus service)
Image 15YaTB-3 trolleybus on Leningradskoye Highway in Moscow, 1930s (from Double-decker bus)
Image 161960 Scania-Vabis L75 bodied by Kristiansund Lettmetall, carrying six passengers (from Bruck (vehicle))
Image 17Setra mid-size coach (from Coach (bus))
Image 18Caetano Levante 3 bodied Scania K410EB6 operated by National Express (from Coach (bus))
Image 19SmartRider card for Transperth (from Transit bus)
Image 20MU ZiU-9 in Leningrad, Soviet Union, 1987 (from Trolleybus)
Image 21AEC Routemaster in Sri Lanka (from Double-decker bus)
Image 22An articulated bus in Tel Aviv (from Articulated bus)
Image 23A Taichung BRT Bus (from Articulated bus)
Image 24Many low-floor buses feature extendable ramps. (from Low-floor bus)
Image 25Hino S'elega in Tokyo, Japan (from Coach (bus))
Image 26Police bus in Taipei, Taiwan (2014) (from Bus)
Image 27The Elektromote, the world's first trolleybus, in Berlin, Germany, 1882 (from Trolleybus)
Image 28A Van Hool US-specification double-decker bus in New York City, US (from Double-decker bus)
Image 29A San Francisco Muni trolleybus (ETI 14TrSF) climbing Nob Hill (from Trolleybus)
Image 30A double-decker bus of Pabama Transport in Bukidnon (from Double-decker bus)
Image 31Electric bus Hyundai Elec City in Goyang (from Double-decker bus)
Image 32Medium-sized Isuzu Songthaew (truck bus) as seen in Samut Sakhon, Thailand. (from Combination bus)
Image 33A ZiU-9 trolleybus in service in Piraeus, Greece, on the large Athens-area trolleybus system. The Russian-built ZiU-9 (also known as the ZiU-682), introduced in 1972, is the most numerous trolleybus model in history, with more than 45,000 built. In the 2000s it was effectively rendered obsolete by low-floor designs. (from Trolleybus)
Image 34An operator livery complementing the bodywork features (from Bus manufacturing)
Image 35Transit bus (from Public transport bus service)
Image 36A Rapid KL Alexander Dennis Enviro500 MMC during a test run in Cheras, Malaysia (from Double-decker bus)
Image 37Bristol Lodekka FS6G – the first British alternative to the lowbridge design (from Lowbridge double-deck bus)
Image 38A low-floor bus can provide accessibility for wheelchair users and those on personal mobility devices, often through the use of a wheelchair ramp. (from Low-floor bus)
Image 39Minibus vehicle from Suzuki Carry used as public transportation of Transjakarta in Indonesia (from Minibus)
Image 40A preserved 1951 Kenworth bruck displayed at the Whitefish Depot (from Bruck (vehicle))
Image 41Guided trolleybus in Castellón de la Plana, Spain (from Guided bus)
Image 42Scania K320UA articulated bus operating for SouthLink (from Articulated bus)
Image 43Hino Coach Bus in RMUTT (Pathumthani, Thailand) (from Coach (bus))
Image 44CT Transit Nova Bus LFS articulated in Waterbury, CT (from Articulated bus)
Image 45Irisbus Crealis Neo, an optically guided TEOR bus in Rouen (from Guided bus)
Image 46Bustech bodied double decker in Sydney, Australia (from Double-decker bus)
Image 471902 Thornycroft Steam bus used by London Road car Co Ltd (from Steam bus)
Image 48French steam bus (from Steam bus)
Image 49Trailer bus in Havana (2006) (from Bus)
Image 50A double-decker bus in Marrakesh, Morocco (from Double-decker bus)

Did you know? – show different entries

...that Perley A. Thomas was a Canadian millsmith who attended night courses, learned drafting and design skills, and became a renowned streetcar and bus manufacturer in High Point, North Carolina?

...that school bus yellow is a specific shade of yellow formally adopted as the standard color for school buses in the United States in 1939, following a conference funded by the Rockefeller Foundation?

...that 24 Royal Marines cadets aged 10 to 13 were killed when a double-decker bus ploughed into their marching column in the 1951 Gillingham bus disaster, setting a new British record of fatalities in a road accident?

...that the Concessionary Bus Travel Act 2007 entitles all persons in England who are over the age of 60 or disabled to free bus travel throughout the country during off-peak hours?

... that Twitter satirist Coldwar Steve creates most of his works on a phone while travelling to work by bus?

... that Central Link trains share a tunnel with buses in Downtown Seattle?

... that Kalasipalyam in central Bangalore, India, known for its traffic congestion and unhygienic conditions, is also a transportation hub for 800,000 bus passengers a day?

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These are images selected by Wikimedia Commons, as either Quality, Valued, or Featured images.

Image 1Buses in Oslo
Image 2A Dopravní podnik hlavního města Prahy, Karosa B 732 in Prague
Image 3A MAN Lion's City of BSAG, Bremen Hauptbahnhof
Image 4An Iveco Crossway of Blaguss, Vienna
Image 5The freight trolley TG-5, Vinnitsa, Ukraine.
Image 6A bus at the University of Nottingham
Image 7A Leyland Olympian, and the Grade II listed Angel Inn
Image 8A preserved Bristol SUS, which was operated by Western National
Image 9Trolleybuses outside Salzburg Hbf, Austria
Image 10An abandoned bus in the Atacama Desert
Image 11A KMB bus, in Hong Kong
Image 12A Setra S 415 NF of the operator BahnBus Hochstift, in Paderborn bus terminal.
Image 13A Connexionsbuses operated Scania Omnidekka, at Thorpe Arch industrial estate, Wetherby.
Image 14An East Lancs bodied Volvo B10M, owned by Hilton's travel, Newton-Le-Willows
Image 15A Mercedes Citaro O530, of the Oxford Bus Company
Image 16A preserved BVG MAN SD200, operating Berlin bus 218
Image 17A trolleybus in Brno, Czech Republic
Image 18An Irisbus Agora Line vehicle in Avignon, France
Image 19The Agora and de l'Assut de l'Or Bridge – Part of the Arts and Science complex in Valencia
Image 20A Karosa Bus in Olomouc
Image 21View from Slussen towards Gamla stan (Old town) and Riddarholmen. In the background Kungsholmen and Stockholm City Hall.
Image 22A trolleybus in Novosibirsk, Russia

Bus People

Image 1
Samuel Ledgard (1874–1952) was a Leeds entrepreneur who became a major West Yorkshire Independent bus operator. Following his death in 1952, his executors continued to operate the Samuel Ledgard bus company until 1967, when it was acquired by the West Yorkshire Road Car Company. (Read More)
Image 2
Julian Henry Peddle (born November 1954) is an entrepreneur who has worked in the bus industry since the early 1980s, having owned or part-owned numerous bus companies. He spent 11 years as co-owner of Stevensons of Uttoxeter between 1983 and 1994, having previously been its traffic manager. During the late 1990s and early 2000s he ran Status Group, a group of small bus companies spread across England which included BakerBus, Choice Travel and MK Metro. He was a major shareholder in Tellings-Golden Miller and Centrebus Holdings before their sale to Arriva. (Read More)
Image 3
John Greenwood (born 1788, died 1851), transport entrepreneur, was the keeper of a toll-gate in Pendleton on the Manchester to Liverpool turnpike. In 1824 he purchased a horse and a cart with several seats and began an omnibus service, probably the first one in the United Kingdom, between Pendleton and Manchester. His pioneering idea was to offer a service where, unlike with a stagecoach, no prior booking was necessary and the driver would pick up or set down passengers anywhere on request. Later on he added daily services to Buxton, Chester, and Sheffield.

John Greenwood, and a number of competitors, created a network of omnibus services, often acting as feeders to the railways. When he died in 1851 he left a flourishing business to his son, also named John (II) (b. 12 May 1818, d. 21 March 1886), which in that year became the Manchester Carriage Company.

By gestation, and amalgamation, in 1880, this became the Manchester Carriage and Tramways Company, led by John Greenwood (II). Following the council taking control of passenger transport services, in 1903, the residuary operations became The Manchester Carriage Co. (1903) Ltd, led by John Greenwood (III) (b. 1856).

For how this initial service developed, see Timeline of public passenger transport operations in Manchester. (Read More)
Image 4
Karuna Ratna Tuladhar (Nepali: करुणारत्न तुलाधर) (23 October 1920 – 19 July 2008) was a pioneer of Nepalese public transport. He was proprietor of Nepal Transport Service which he and his brother Lupau Ratna Tuladhar founded in 1959. This was Nepal's first public bus service which linked the capital Kathmandu with the railhead of Amlekhganj, 190 kilometers to the south near the Indian border.

The same year, Nepal Transport Service also started the first local shuttle between Kathmandu and Patan (Lalitpur), one of the three cities in the Kathmandu Valley. (Read More)
Image 5
Werner Wolfgang Heubeck (24 October 1923 – 19 October 2009) was a German–British transport executive who was managing director of the Northern Ireland transport companies Ulsterbus and Citybus. (Read More)
Image 6
Sir Moir Lockhead OBE DHC (born 25 April 1945 in County Durham, England) is an English businessman. He was Chief Executive and Deputy Chairman of UK transport group FirstGroup. Originally a mechanical engineer, he left school (West Cornforth Secondary Modern) at 15 to become apprentice mechanic in a bus garage in Darlington, before working for a short period as a management trainee with Tarmac. In 1979, he was appointed Chief Engineer of Glasgow City Transport. He joined Grampian Regional Transport in 1985 as General Manager, and went on to lead the successful employee buy-out as GRT Group.

He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1996 for services to the bus industry. He is a past President of the Confederation of Passenger Transport. He was knighted in the 2008 Birthday Honours. In 2009, the University of Aberdeen awarded him a Doctorate honoris causa (DHC). In 2010, he was awarded the VisitScotland Silver Thistle Award for outstanding services to the tourism industry in Scotland.

In 2011, he was appointed Chairman of the Scottish Rugby Union. In 2014, he was re-appointed for a second three-year term. In 2014, he was appointed Chairman of the National Trust for Scotland.

In January 2011, First Great Western powercar 43160 was named Sir Moir Lockhead as was First ScotRail diesel multiple unit 170401 in March 2011. (Read More)
Image 7
Kathleen Andrews (née Smith; May 17, 1940 – November 17, 2013) was a British-Canadian bus driver and transport manager. Her pioneering role as the first female Transit Operator, Dispatcher and Manager in Edmonton, Alberta was later commemorated by the city.

Kathleen Smith grew up in Rochdale, Lancashire and migrated to Edmonton aged 14. She graduated from Ross Sheppard Composite High School in 1959. Following a marriage and subsequent divorce, she sought full-time employment to support her family, which led to joining the Edmonton Transit System (ETS) in 1975. She initially fulfilled the role of Bus Information Clerk, before becoming the first female bus driver that May. After three years, she became the first female Bus Dispatcher, and was eventually promoted to manager of Special Service charter buses. She was commended by the council as being the first female in any significant management capacity in the city. She continued to drive school buses after her retirement from ETS in 1998, and died of cancer in November 2013.

In 2014, the city council created the Kathleen Andrews Transit Garage at a cost of $196 million, covering 500,000 square feet of space and accommodating 300 buses and 700 drivers. The garage did not open officially until February 2020. (Read More)
Image 8
Robert R. Kiley (September 16, 1935 – August 9, 2016) was an American public transit planner and supervisor known for his ability to rehabilitate transit systems experiencing serious problems. From 2001 to 2006 he was the first commissioner of Transport for London, the public organisation that runs and maintains London's public transport network.

Kiley also worked as a CIA agent, CEO of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, deputy mayor of Boston, chairman and CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and president and CEO of the New York City Partnership. He is credited as being the architect of the revival of Boston and New York's ailing public transport systems in the 1970s and 1980s respectively.

Kiley unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Boston in 1983. (Read More)
Image 9
Ann Heron Gloag DBE (née Souter; born 10 December 1942) is a Scottish businesswoman, activist, and charity campaigner. She is co-founder of the transport company Stagecoach Group.

According to The Sunday Times Rich List in 2024, Gloag and her brother, Sir Brian Souter, are worth £815 million, an increase of £35 million from the previous year.

In 2023, Gloag put Beaufort Castle, her Category A listed residence in the Scottish Highlands, up for sale at £7.5 million. Located near Kiltarlity, 13 miles west of Inverness, the castle was originally built in the 12th century and then rebuilt in 1880. Gloag purchased the historic estate, which includes a 26-bedroom principal property, a chapel, six residential cottages and 127 acres of land, in 1994 for approximately £1.5 million. (Read More)