We love to find out facts and statistics about public transport and travel habits, so here are some that we found about coach and bus travel globally!

12 Stats and Facts About Coach and Bus Travel Across The Globe

• More than 5 billion bus journeys are made in the UK each year! [Source]
• In Europe, buses and coaches provide 55% of public transport, while railway, trams and metros together account for 45%. [Source]
• Before 1907 London buses were in different colours to signify their route. [Source]
• Coach tourism in Germany generates $13.5 billion in annual sales. [Source]
• The Spanish bus and coach industry is a major source of economic activity with a turnover of $4.9 billion per year and contributes $4.1 billion to Spain’s GDP! [Source]
• The Knight Bus – as seen in JK Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – was constructed using three RT-Class AEC Regent III buses. The fictitious bus – commissioned in 1865 – is summoned by sticking your magical wand in the year and is used by wizards who are underage or infirm (it has beds too). [Source]
• In Europe, 50% of elderly people (50 million) do not have a car or cannot drive, and rely on buses and coaches for cultural and tourist destinations or simply to run their errands. [Source]
• An Apprenti’Bus in France offers mobile workshops for reading, arithmetic and oral and written expression! [Source]
• ‘Bus’ is an abbreviation of ‘omnibus’, the Latin for ‘for all’, as they were transport for all people. In 1834, Charles Dickens wrote an essay called ‘Omnibuses’ praising them – “of all known vehicles, from the glass-coach in which we were taken to be christened, to that sombre caravan in which we must one day make our last earthly journey, there is nothing like an omnibus” (Dickens). [Source]
• In the 1920s there was such a thing as a ‘pirate bus route’ in London, because of a shortage of buses following WWI. It resulted in bus vs. ‘pirate’ races becoming a commonplace occurrence in the city. [Source]
• The world’s longest bus is more than 30 metres long and can carry 256 passengers! [Source]
• The World’s largest bus measures in at over 25 metres long and can carry up to 300 passengers! [Source]

If you have some great travel tips we would love to hear them! Tweet us at @stanley_travel to share your ideas and tips with us!

• Discover more about our coaches by visiting this page or check out our bus timetables here. For more information or enquiries about our coach services please call 01207 237 424.

We are continually developing coach hire Stanley and extending our selection to Northumberland day trips include routes for all tastes and abilities, so keep in touch with our team for the latest offering here on Stanley Travel.