Initially, the structures of Buses were not very different from trucks. They used to share the same kind of chassis with a different body. However, in 1922, an American Firm for the first time had developed a chassis especially for bus service. It's a little different from the truck chassis, which is a foot higher than that of the bus chassis. It also had a front mounted engine, a wide tread and an extra long wheelbase. However, later an integral frame was developed for better performance. Soon after that, the gasoline electric buses were introduced and a few years later the diesel powered Buses came into being. Later in the 1950's air suspension was first implemented in the passenger Buses. Compared with the buses of the yesteryears today's buses consume more fuel, but at the same time are also more powerful than the buses of the past.

Buses as we know them today first appeared about 1900 and in some ways have changed substantially and in other ways have changed little. This brief history of buses is wildly incomplete but should serve as a good starting place for following discussions.

The term ``bus'' probably comes from ``omnibus'' meaning ``many things at once'' or ``for all''.

The first regular bus service was started in Paris in the 1660's. It's invention is credited to Blaise Pascal, a famous mathemetician and scientist. Buses were distinguished from taxis and other coaches because they ran on fixed routes, on a regular schedule, and with lower fares. The system was successful during it's year-long trial, but was abandoned on Pascal's death.

In about 1900, most public transit was horse-drawn cabs and coaches, horse- electric- or coal-powered rail vehicles, or water craft. As gasoline motors became practical, companies started using multi-passenger vehicles to provide transportation where rails and water transportation were not available. Buses became more and more popular in part because of their speed compared to horses and their flexibility compared to rail vehicles. They were also popular for their relatively low cost. High-volume rail service is cheaper to operate in the long term, but the starting cost of track and heavy-duty rail vehicles is too high to pay back on low-volume routes. Even where long-term payback is possible, the relatively low cost of entry in to the bus market is highly attractive. Roadways are built and maintained at public expense, while rails are largely built and maintained at private expense, so bus service avoids some costs through taxation ``sleight of hand''. Finally, in United States in the 1940's, companies selling buses, rubber and oil offered special deals to transportation companies to help get them as long-term customers, further reducing the cost of entry. Today (circa 2000), rail is returning and airplanes are by far the most popular way to travel long distance. However, buses maintain low cost of entry and route flexibility and they are a standard part of public transportation both within cities and between cities. Probably the biggest challenge to bus transportation today is relatively slow speed compared to cars.

The earliest buses were built by adpating other vehicles, for example by putting benches on a truck bed, or extending a car body to hold more passengers. As bus sales increased, buses were usually built with the body or body and frame made by a body builder and the mechanical components bought from other suppliers. As production volumes increased further, it became more common for high-volume buses to have most parts of a bus built all by one company, notably Ford, GMC and Mack. By about 1960, Ford and Mack exited the market and the U.S. government started antitrust investigations against GMC, and there was been a return in the U.S. to bus companies which build bodies and frames and purchase drivetrain and suspension items from other companies. In Europe, M.A.N., Mercedes and Volvo still build most parts of the bus.

Dates below are for entry in to production rather than demonstration or protoype, unless noted otherwise.

Early buses were stretched cars or truck frames with special bodies built by independent coachworks.

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