Feeder bus and Public bus

[Loh Jane]

Hi English Teachers,
Is there any difference between ‘a feeder bus’ and ‘a public bus’? Thanks a lot in advance.

 

[emsr2d2]

I have never heard of a "feeder bus" in BrE.

 

[Loh Jane]

Hi emsr2d2,
there is, you visit MTR Bus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and you can see.

 

[emsr2d2]

As I said, in British English I have not heard of it. You have answered your own question by finding the Wikipedia link which makes it clear exactly what type of public bus a feeder bus is.

 

[Loh Jane]

Hi emsr2d2,
I am not clear, are they the same?

 

[emsr2d2]

Feeder buses are public buses. Not all public buses are feeder buses.

 

[Loh Jane]

Hi emsr2d2,
do you mean public buses include tourist buses?

 

[bhaisahab]

Hi emsr2d2,
do you mean public buses include tourist buses?

Who mentioned tourist buses?

 

[Loh Jane]

Hi,
I mentioned.

 

[bhaisahab]

Hi,
I mentioned.

In that case, how could emsr2d2 have meant that public buses include tourist buses? She didn't say anything about tourist buses.

 

[5jj]

Neither public bus nor feeder bus is a natural BrE expression. You have already found out what a feeder bus is in Hong Kong. I imagine that the expression 'public bus' is used in some places for buses operated as a form of public transport.

 

[riquecohen]

The term "feeder bus" is not used in AmE.

 

[Gillnetter]

The term "feeder bus" is not used in AmE.

It is, at least in the west. Years ago I drove a route from Denver, Colorado to Billings, Montana. Along the route I would meet a bus from a small company in southern Wyoming. This bus had picked up passengers who wanted to go north to Montana and, from there, either east or west. As I went further north I met a bus from Cody, Wyoming (near Yellowstone National Park). This bus also had passengers who were going north. These buses were called feeder buses or feeder lines. These buses fed the mainline, or, gave passengers to the mainline bus. We also met with feeder buses in the sparsely populated areas of Kansas, Nebraska, and South Dakota. It may be that this is a industry specific term, but it is quite familar to me.

 

[5jj]

It is, at least in the west

We live and learn. I would have sworn that this was not a tern in mainstream BrE or AmE. I was wrong.

How about 'public bus'?

 

[Gillnetter]

We live and learn. I would have sworn that this was not a tern in mainstream BrE or AmE. I was wrong.

How about 'public bus'?

Most buses are public buses, though they are not called that - just buses. There are private coaches. If a person or a group (such as a singing group) has their own bus they will have something printed, or painted, on the outside of the bus saying, private coach. This is done in the US so that they do not have to comply with the federal hours of service requirement for the driver and so that they are not subject to periodic safety inspections.

 

[emsr2d2]

Hi emsr2d2,
do you mean public buses include tourist buses?

Generally, I mean what I say. If for some reason I had meant "tourist buses" (whatever they are), I would have said "tourist buses".

In the UK, buses which travel relatively short distances on a fixed timetable and are available for members of the public to get on and off wherever they choose (and pay for the privilege) are just called "buses". They are part of the public transport network.

The type of public transport which travels longer distances is called a "coach". Usually, you have to book a ticket in advance for those.

It is possible to hire both buses and coaches as a private individual but when you do that, you're not using public transport.

We don't have anything called "tourist buses". Tourists can get on and off public buses, just like everyone else. We're nice like that.