A bus (or omnibus or autobus) is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. A bus generally carries more passengers than a minivan, and is used for different purposes. Buses are the most widely used mode of public transport, although buses also see use in a number of other applications, notably in tourism and as private transport. Buses come in various shapes and sizes, and can carry anywhere from 8 to 200 passengers, in varying levels of comfort. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses. A more luxurious version of all sizes of bus is the coach. Buses are usually powered by a diesel engine, although early buses were horse drawn, and experiments with steam buses also occurred. In parallel to the fully mobile bus, was use of the trolleybus. Limited uses and further research into alternative powertrain technologies for buses continues in parallel with the car industry. While historically buses around the world had, and still have, differences in design and appearance, in common with the car industry bus manufacturing is increasingly a globalised activity, with the same design of bus appearing on roads around the world. Buses, particularly for public transport, are increasingly designed for accessibility.
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A bus (or omnibus or autobus) is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. A bus generally carries more passengers than a minivan, and is used for different purposes. Buses are the most widely used mode of public transport, although buses also see use in a number of other applications, notably in tourism and as private transport. Buses come in various shapes and sizes, and can carry anywhere from 8 to 200 passengers, in varying levels of comfort. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses. A more luxurious version of all sizes of bus is the coach. Buses are usually powered by a diesel engine, although early buses were horse drawn, and experiments with steam buses also occurred. In parallel to the fully mobile bus, was use of the trolleybus. Limited uses and further research into alternative powertrain technologies for buses continues in parallel with the car industry. While historically buses around the world had, and still have, differences in design and appearance, in common with the car industry bus manufacturing is increasingly a globalised activity, with the same design of bus appearing on roads around the world. Buses, particularly for public transport, are increasingly designed for accessibility.
Etymology
The name bus is a derivation of 'Omnibus Vehicle' meaning a 'vehicle for all', where omnibus means "for all" in Latin, reflecting the public transport nature of early usages. When motorized transport proved successful after c. 1905, a motorized omnibus was for a time sometimes called an autobus, a term still used in French and other languages.
History
There are indications of the first bus dating back to 1662, although serious horse drawn public transport bus services were not launched until the 1820s. Early buses were horse drawn vehicles, a combination of the hackney carriage and stagecoach concepts. From the 1830s the steam powered bus also existed. In parallel to the development of the bus, was the invention of the electric trolleybus running under a system of wires, which actually preceded, and in many urban areas outnumbered, the conventional engine powered bus. The first engine powered buses emerged along with development of the automobile. After the first engine powered bus of 1895, models expanded in the 1900s, leading to the widespread introduction of the contemporary recognisable form of full size buses from the 1950s.
Designs
The names of different types of bus vary around the world according to local tradition or marketing, although buses can be classified into basic types based on their general features.
