John Greenwood is rumoured to have established the first 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 offered a service where, unlike a stagecoach, no prior booking was necessary. The driver would pick up or drop off passengers anywhere on request. Steam buses, trolleybuses and motor buses soon followed.
The world’s fastest bus reached an incredible 367mph due to the addition of a fighter jet engine. Created by Paul Stender from Indianapolis, the bus features a GE J-79 jet engine from a McDonnell Douglas F4 Phantom jet leaving only enough space for three passengers.
The Neoplan Jumbocruiser is recognised by the Guinness World Records as the world’s largest coach at 18 meters long, 2.5m wide and 4m high, with a capacity of 170 passengers. It was an articulated double-deck multi-axle coach that was assembled in Germany. First manufactured in 1975, it ended production in 1992.
Designed by Fraunhofer IVI and the Technical University Dresden, the world’s longest bus is 98 feet long with the ability to carry 256 passengers. The Autotram Extra Grand is a three-section bus that features a complex computer system to aid the driver with turning, hybrid engine, and costs far less to operate than commuter rail systems.
According to many reports, if you visit Cambridge Gardens (W10) in London at 1:15am, you may see the phantom number seven bus. Stories say that the bus drives towards you in the middle of the road, without lights or a driver before vanishing without a trace. The bus is rumoured to have claimed lives, with a car bursting into flames in the exact spot that it appeared back in 1934. Last spotted in 1990, it’s long overdue an appearance.