Portal:Buses

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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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Lothian Buses is a major bus operator based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the largest municipal bus company in the United Kingdom: the City of Edinburgh Council (through Edinburgh Transport Holdings) owns 91%, Midlothian Council 5%, East Lothian Council 3% and West Lothian Council 1%.

Lothian operates the majority of bus services in Edinburgh, and is a significant operator in East Lothian, Midlothian and most recently West Lothian. It operates a comprehensive night bus network, three routes to Edinburgh Airport, and owns the subsidiary companies Lothian Country, East Coast Buses, Edinburgh Bus Tours, Lothian Motorcoaches and Eve Coaches. (Full article...)

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The Witch Way is the branding for long-standing English bus route X43, which runs between Burnley and Manchester. The service is currently operated by The Burnley Bus Company.

The route has operated continuously since 1948. It was previously operated by Ribble Motor Services, Stagecoach North West and Burnley & Pendle, while GM Buses briefly competed with Stagecoach on the route. During its history it has served several places no longer on the present route, including Bury and the Trafford Centre.

The service was rebranded as The Witch Way in 2005 to coincide with the introduction of new vehicles. It had previously been branded as The X43 and before then was unbranded. Between 1982 and 1986 the route was known as Timesaver, with buses carrying dedicated liveries. (

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General images

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

Image 1Geumgang Express Hyundai Universe in South Korea. (from Intercity bus service)
Image 2Interior of an articulated bus in Los Angeles (from Bus)
Image 3The chassis of an Alexander Dennis Enviro500 double-decker bus on display in Hong Kong (from Bus manufacturing)
Image 4A Van Hool US-specification double-decker bus in New York City, US (from Double-decker bus)
Image 5US school bus (2007 IC CE) (from Bus)
Image 6An example of a private bus operating for BusWest in Perth (2018) (from Bus)
Image 7LibertyBus in Jersey (from Double-decker bus)
Image 8Portland, Oregon TriMet high-floor bus with wheelchair lift extended and lowered to the sidewalk/pavement (2010) (from Bus)
Image 9A semi-open top sightseeing bus in Kaohsiung, Taiwan (from Open top bus)
Image 10Battery electric buses are in widespread service across the world. Pictured is a Yutong E12 in Zhengzhou. (from Transit bus)
Image 11Schematic of an articulated bus, showing four passenger doors and two powertrain configurations. (from Articulated bus)
Image 12A 19-seat low-floor green minibus (from Public light bus)
Image 13GMC New Design truckbus (from Combination bus)
Image 14A San Francisco Muni trolleybus (ETI 14TrSF) climbing Nob Hill (from Trolleybus)
Image 15A 1911 LGOC B-type (from Bus)
Image 16Cacciamali Urby (built on Iveco Daily chassis) in Rijeka, Croatia (from Minibus)
Image 17Interior of the Alexander ALX500 bodywork as applied to the three-axle Volvo Super Olympian (from Bus manufacturing)
Image 18Bus bunching caused by misaligned bus timetables (from Public transport bus service)
Image 19A 1965 Mercedes-Benz LPO 322 Bruck in Karlskrona, Sweden (2005) (from Bus)
Image 20A Foton BJ6128SHEVCA-5 plug-in hybrid double-decker bus in Beijing Bus service (from Double-decker bus)
Image 21A 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 22A Sunwin trolleybus in Shanghai, on the world's oldest operating trolleybus system (from Trolleybus)
Image 23A trolleybus in Bradford in 1970. The Bradford Trolleybus system was the last one to operate in the United Kingdom; closing in 1972. (from Trolleybus)
Image 24AC Transit XMC-77 (from Articulated bus)
Image 25A Kia Granbird Silkroad from 2015 at the Seoul Motor Show (from Coach (bus))
Image 26An articulated bus in Tel Aviv (from Articulated bus)
Image 27A Ringtrambus hybrid bus in Belgium (from Bi-articulated bus)
Image 28SmartRider card for Transperth (from Transit bus)
Image 29LiAZ-6213 in Tyumen (from Low-floor bus)
Image 30Amédée Bollée's L'Obéissante steam bus photographed in 1875 (from Steam bus)
Image 31Articulated trolleybus in Arnhem (from Articulated bus)
Image 32Mitsubishi Fuso Aero Ace used by Airport Limousine Bus in Tokyo, Japan (from Coach (bus))
Image 33A 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 34Police bus in Taipei, Taiwan (2014) (from Bus)
Image 35A bus in Finland in the early 20th century with the cargo area totally separated from the bus body (from Bruck (vehicle))
Image 36An AtB Van Hool Exqui.City 24 on line 3 in Trondheim, Norway (from Bi-articulated bus)
Image 37In many cities, traditional bus service is being augmented by bus rapid transit. Pictured is the Brisbane Metro (from Transit bus)
Image 38a New Flyer XD60 for CDTA (from Articulated bus)
Image 39A rebuilt East Lancs Greenway (from Bus manufacturing)
Image 40A private omnibus or "station bus" (from Horse-drawn omnibus)
Image 41Park and ride (from Public transport bus service)
Image 42Ural-375D 'truckbus' in Tajikistan. (from Combination bus)
Image 43Diagram of a 1947-built Pullman Standard model 800 trolleybus, a type that operated in Valparaíso (Chile) until 2023 (from Trolleybus)
Image 44MAN SD200 on route T-4 in Saint-Petersburg in 2000s (from Double-decker bus)
Image 45A Mercedes-Benz O405 integral bus (from Bus manufacturing)
Image 46A Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 bodied Volvo B9TL (from Low-floor bus)
Image 47 Almazora bodied Fuso Canter Modern PUV, Philippines (from Combination bus)
Image 48Russian Police Ural-572060 also known as VM-4320 (from Combination bus)
Image 49Phileas bus (from Guided bus)
Image 50The Elektromote, the world's first trolleybus, in Berlin, Germany, 1882 (from Trolleybus)

Did you know? – show different entries

... that trolleybuses in Derby (example pictured) last operated in 1967, but there are still five preserved by collectors?

... that Casper the Commuting Cat is a book about the true story of a cat who was a regular bus commuter in Plymouth, England?

... that MASA, formed in 1959, was the second-largest manufacturer of buses in Mexico when it was acquired in 1998 by Volvo?

... that Nepal's first public bus service was founded in 1959 by Karuna Ratna Tuladhar and his brother?

... that television dramas have portrayed criminals riding around Weston-super-Mare on an open-top bus?

... that the UFO-like Kielce Bus Station (pictured) has been praised as "one of the most valuable" architectural designs of the last decades of the People's Republic of Poland?

... that residents of Motspur Park feel that the London Buses route K5 should be more frequent?

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Selected image

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

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

Bus People

Image 1
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)
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
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 4
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 5
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 6
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 7
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 8
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 9
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)