Omnibus Meaning " (Carriage) For All", and Appeared in London in 1829. One Etymology Holds

BUS
A bus (/bs/; plural "buses", /bsz/, archaically also omnibus, multibus, or autobus) is a road
vehicle designed to carry many passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300
passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker rigid bus, with larger loads
carried by double-decker and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried
by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are used for longer-distance services. Bus manufacturing is
increasingly globalised, with the same design appearing around the world.
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.
Horse-drawn buses 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 ones powered by compressed natural gas or biodiesel.
Bus is a clipped form of the Latin word omnibus. It appeared in Paris in 181920 as (voiture)
omnibus meaning "(carriage) for all", and appeared in London in 1829. One etymology holds
that omnibus is derived from a hatter's shop which was situated in front of one of the first bus
stations in Nantes, France in 1823. "Omnes Omnibus" was a pun on the Latin-sounding name of
that hatter Omns: omnes meaning "all" and omnibus means "for all" in Latin. Nantes citizens
soon gave the nickname Omnibus to the vehicle.
Early history
A short-lived early public bus line (known as a "carriage" at that time) was launched by Blaise
Pascal in Paris in 1662; it was quite popular until fares were increased and access to the service
was restricted to high-society members by regulation and law. Services ceased after 15 years and
no further such services were known until the 1820s.
First omnibus services
Steam Busses
John Greenwood arguably established the first modern omnibus service in 1824. As the keeper of
a toll gate in Pendleton on the Manchester-to-Liverpool turnpike, he purchased a horse and a cart
with several seats, and began an omnibus service between those two locations. 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
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services to Buxton, Chester, and Sheffield. His line immediately sparked fierce competition and
a dense network of omnibus services quickly sprouted in the area, often acting as feeders to the
railways. In 1865, Greenwood's company and its competitors amalgamated into the Manchester
Carriage Company.
Trolly bus
In parallel to the development of the bus was the invention of the electric trolleybus, typically
fed through trolley poles by overhead wires. The Siemens brothers, William in England
and Ernst Werner in Germany, collaborated on the development of the trolleybus concept. Sir
William first proposed the idea in an article to the Journal of the Society of Arts in 1881 as an
"...arrangement by which an ordinary omnibus...would have a suspender thrown at intervals from
one side of the street to the other, and two wires hanging from these suspenders; allowing
contact-rollers to run on these two wires, the current could be conveyed to the tram-car, and back
again to the dynamo machine at the station, without the necessity of running upon rails at all."
Motor buses
The first internal combustion omnibus of 1895 (Siegen to Netphen)
In Siegerland, Germany, two passenger bus lines ran briefly, but unprofitably, in 1895 using a
six-passenger motor carriage developed from the 1893 Benz Viktoria. Another commercial bus
line using the same model Benz omnibuses ran for a short time in 1898 in the rural area
around Llandudno, Wales.
Types
Formats include single-decker bus, double-decker bus (both usually with a rigid
chassis), limobus, and articulated bus (or 'bendy-bus') the prevalence of which varies from
country to country. Bi-articulated buses are also manufactured, and passenger-carrying trailers
either towed behind a rigid bus (a bus trailer), or hauled as a trailer by a truck (a trailer bus).
Smaller midibuses have a lower capacity and open-top buses are typically used for leisure
purposes. In many new fleets, particularly in local transit systems, a shift to low-floor buses is
occurring, primarily for easier accessibility. Coaches are designed for longer-distance travel and
are typically fitted with individual high-backed reclining seats, seat belts, toilets, and audio-
visual entertainment systems, and can operate at higher speeds with more capacity for luggage.
Coaches may be single- or double-deckers, articulated, and often include a separate luggage
compartment under the passenger floor. Guided buses are fitted with technology to allow them to
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run in designated guideways, allowing the controlled alignment at bus stops and less space taken
up by guided lanes than conventional roads or bus lanes.
Bus manufacturing may be by a single company (an integral manufacturer), or by one

manufacturer's building a bus body over a chassis produced by another manufacturer.
DESIGN
Accessibility
Configuration
Guidance
Liveries
Propulsion
Manufacturing
USES
Public transport
Tourism
Student Transport
Private charter
Private ownership
Promotion
Busses around the World
Historically, the types and features of buses have developed according to local needs. Buses were
fitted with technology appropriate to the local climate or passenger needs, such as air
conditioning in Asia, or cycle mounts on North American buses. The bus types in use around the
world where there was little mass production were often sourced second hand from other
countries, such as the Malta bus, and buses in use in Africa. Other countries such as Cuba
required novel solutions to import restrictions, with the creation of the "camellos" (camel bus), a
specially manufactured trailer bus.
Bus expositions
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Euro Bus Expo is a trade show, which is held bi-ennially at the UK's National Exhibition
Centre in Birmingham. As the official show of theConfederation of Passenger Transport, the
UK's trade association for the bus, coach and light rail industry, the three-day event offers
visitors from Europe and beyond the chance to see and experience, at first hand, the very latest
vehicles and product and service innovations right across the industry. The next show will be
held in November 2016.
Busworld Kortrijk is the leading bus trade fair in Europe is the Busworld in Kortrijk in Belgium.
It is held bi-ennially, last time October 2013 and next time October 2015.
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BUS

The first internal combustion omnibus of 1895 (Siegen to Netphen)

Bus manufacturing may be by a single company (an integral manufacturer), or by one

Busses around the World

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