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...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Good article – show another

This is a Good article, an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards.

Westward view from Boren Avenue at the platforms and plaza level, two years prior to closure

Convention Place station was a bus station in Seattle, Washington, United States. It served as the northern terminus of the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel, a facility used by King County Metro and Sound Transit Express buses. Link light rail, which stops at the tunnel's four other stations, did not serve Convention Place. From the station, buses continued onto the Interstate 5 reversible express lanes or Olive Way via two exits. The station's platforms were accessed from a plaza located at the intersection of Pine Street and 9th Avenue near the Washington State Convention Center and Paramount Theatre.

The station began construction in 1987 and opened on September 15, 1990. During planning of the Link light rail system in the 1990s, Convention Place was identified as a potential light rail stop or terminus, but was cut in favor of a deeper crossing of Interstate 5 towards Capitol Hill. The station was offered by Metro as a site for transit-oriented development and attracted interest from the convention center for a potential expansion. After a stalled attempt in 2009, the expansion was launched in the early 2010s and Convention Place station was sold for $162 million. (Full article...)

List of Good articles

Selected article – show another

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. (

Full Article)

More selected articles

General images

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

Image 1Minibus vehicle from Suzuki Carry used as public transportation of Transjakarta in Indonesia (from Minibus)
Image 2A rebuilt East Lancs Greenway (from Bus manufacturing)
Image 3New Flyer XT60 in Seattle (from Trolleybus)
Image 4Bus bunching caused by misaligned bus timetables (from Public transport bus service)
Image 5Underground trolleybus at Kurobe Dam Station (from Trolleybus)
Image 6The Perth Central Area Transit operates as a zero-fare basis for passengers in the Perth central business district (from Public transport bus service)
Image 7A Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 bodied Volvo B9TL (from Low-floor bus)
Image 8Scania Irizar i6 coach in black and pink Ausden Clark Executive livery (from Coach (bus))
Image 91937 Chevrolet bodied by Anco in Trondheim with an open cargo area integrated with the body (from Bruck (vehicle))
Image 10An ex-SBS Transit Leyland Olympian 3-axle bus as preserved in the UK after its retirement from Singapore in 2013 (from Double-decker bus)
Image 11Double-decker Neoplan Skyliners with Oxford Tube bodies (from Coach (bus))
Image 12A low-entry bus of Volgren CR228L bodied Mercedes-Benz OC500LE in Darwin, Australia (from Low-floor bus)
Image 13The Vancouver trolleybus system completed the transition to an exclusively low-floor fleet in 2009. (from Trolleybus)
Image 14A 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 15Cross-sectional diagram of the parallel direction curbs of the bus lane in Essen, Germany (from Guided bus)
Image 16BYD B12C01 double-decker bus operating in Santiago, Chile (from Double-decker bus)
Image 17The chassis of an Alexander Dennis Enviro500 double-decker bus on display in Hong Kong (from Bus manufacturing)
Image 18Hino Coach Bus in RMUTT (Pathumthani, Thailand) (from Coach (bus))
Image 19John Scott Russell's Steam carriage in 1834 (from Steam bus)
Image 20An omnibus of the Compagnie générale des omnibus [fr] company (from Horse-drawn omnibus)
Image 21Cikupa manhauler (from Combination bus)
Image 22Yutong City Master in Skopje, North Macedonia (from Double-decker bus)
Image 23Interior of the Alexander ALX500 bodywork as applied to the three-axle Volvo Super Olympian (from Bus manufacturing)
Image 24A dual-mode bus operating as a trolleybus in the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel in 1990 (from Trolleybus)
Image 25Coal mines also operate trolleybus networks to serve workers. Wuyang Coal Mine in Xiangyuan, Changzhi, Shanxi has the last remaining mine trolleybus system in China. (from Trolleybus)
Image 26Cacciamali Urby (built on Iveco Daily chassis) in Rijeka, Croatia (from Minibus)
Image 27A Taichung BRT Bus (from Articulated bus)
Image 28A Transit Systems Scania K280UB at Westfield Miranda (from Bus)
Image 29SmartRider card for Transperth (from Transit bus)
Image 30AEC Routemaster in Sri Lanka (from Double-decker bus)
Image 31Iveco Urbanway (from Articulated bus)
Image 321902 Thornycroft Steam bus used by London Road car Co Ltd (from Steam bus)
Image 33A Hino Rainbow midibus (from Midibus)
Image 34Double Decker tour coach in the Netherlands (from Double-decker bus)
Image 351983 Repstad-bodied Volvo B10M, converted for transport of racing horses (from Bruck (vehicle))
Image 36Intercity coaches from GO and Megabus seen in Niagara Falls, Ontario (from Intercity bus service)
Image 37GAZ combination bus (from Combination bus)
Image 38The Hyde Park Gate in London, erected by the Kensington Turnpike Trust. These trusts helped to stimulate a sustained period of road improvement in the 18th century. (from Intercity bus service)
Image 39Volgren Optimus bodied Volvo B8RLEA of Transperth, Perth, Western Australia, Australia, November 2018 (from Articulated bus)
Image 40Stagecoach Yorkshire Enviro400EV electric double-decker in Chesterfield in May 2025 (from Double-decker bus)
Image 41GMC New Design truckbus (from Combination bus)
Image 42Opel Blitz combination bus (from Combination bus)
Image 43Bus rapid transit (from Public transport bus service)
Image 442009 Volvo 9700HD NG bruck coach from Bussring. In service for Riksteatret, outside their headquarters in Nydalen, Oslo. (from Bruck (vehicle))
Image 45Solaris trolleybus on the Arnhem trolleybus system in the Netherlands (from Trolleybus)
Image 46Medium-sized Hino Songthaew (truck bus) as seen in Sakon Nakhon, Thailand. (from Combination bus)
Image 47Armoured buses in Israel (from Bus manufacturing)
Image 48World's first trolleybus, Berlin 1882 (from Bus)
Image 49Trolleybus wire switch (Type Soviet Union) (from Trolleybus)
Image 50A preserved 1951 Kenworth bruck displayed at the Whitefish Depot (from Bruck (vehicle))

Did you know? – show different entries

... that Cam Winton has held press conferences on a moving Metro Transit bus and in the largest pothole in Minneapolis?

... that the first series of On the Buses, a British sitcom written by Chesney and Wolfe, was rejected by the BBC but accepted by London Weekend Television?

... that Werner Heubeck, the managing director of Ulsterbus during The Troubles, was known for personally removing IRA bombs from buses to keep them running on time?

... that French manufacturer Vétra built trolleybuses (example pictured) for transit systems in 12 countries, on three continents?

... that Newton Corner has at various times been a commuter rail depot, a trolley station, and now a busy bus stop?

... that Peter Stuart, who formed the band Dog's Eye View, toured with Paula Cole by following her tour bus in his rental car?

See more...

Start a new article

Selected image

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

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

Bus People

Image 1
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 2
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 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
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 5
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 6
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 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
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 9
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)