History of creation and interesting facts about buses
Every day, hundreds of thousands of people around the world use buses – the most common and popular form of public transport. It has long become an integral and necessary part of our daily life, and everyone is well aware of the advantages and disadvantages of buses. However, few people are interested in the historical details of the emergence and development of such an important type of transport behind the veil of everyday life. It’s definitely not worth finding out about them!
Contents of the article:
Where it all began..
The first mechanism, an improved version of what was then called a bus, was created by British inventor Richard Trevithick in 1801. On Christmas Day that year, through the streets of Camborne (Cornwall), a never-before-seen vehicle was driven by a steam engine, the cabin of which could accommodate up to eight passengers, whipping up enthusiastic crowds of people having fun. A fireman stood behind the running board of the car, tirelessly adding coal to the firebox. The new miracle of technology threw clouds of black, rich smoke into the air, and the inflated clouds, however, confidently created further rights to life.
By 1829, the bus (at that time this vehicle had already received this name) had developed significantly both externally and functionally. By this time, people no longer looked at him “as an ugly duckling,” but as a growing, beautiful swan, capable of carrying and developing up to 30 passengers. The speed could not be achieved by any of the existing modes of transport at that time.
The rapid spread of electricity at the end of the 19th century allowed buses to reach a qualitatively new level of evolution. Electric engines began to be used instead of steam engines, and in 1886 it became possible to use updated and very preferential public transport, which was left in the vastness of London.
The Russian Empire was not spared the rapid technological progress: in 1901, the Moscow machine-building plant “Duk” built and introduced the country’s first electric buses. They could accommodate up to 10 people and had a maximum speed of 20 km/h.
20th century: peak of development
The next important word in the development of a new type of transport belonged to the recognized master of mechanical engineering – a German: in 1896, the Benz plant showed the world the first bus with an internal combustion engine running on gasoline. Outwardly, it looked like an enlarged carriage for cab drivers, accommodated eight passengers in the cabin and reached speeds of up to 13 km/h. However, at first this know-how traveled only between several small German cities along short roads.
Buses with internal combustion engines appeared in Tsarist Russia seven years later: in 1903, a more progressive German copy was even designed at the St. Petersburg Frese plant. It seated 10 people and could accelerate to 16 km/h, but had a serious drawback: an open interior. Therefore, trips were canceled in bad weather or were very uncomfortable for the driver and passengers.
Buses had not yet achieved global importance in the role of public transport, but technical capabilities and comfort levels could not be gradually increased. This did not prevent us from solving the main task – transporting flows of people on a regular basis: on April 12, 1903, the first bus in history appeared in London as a form of urban public transport. In Russia, this fateful event occurred a little later.
In the summer of 1907, buses under the NAG brand were delivered from Germany to Arkhangelsk, where their capacity of 26 people soon won huge demand and greatly facilitated movement around the city. By November of the same year, passenger buses appeared in the capital, St. Petersburg, and in August 1908, in Moscow. However, traffic here became stable only after the revolution and Moscow gaining the status of the capital of the USSR: in 1924, the first regular bus route was organized between the former postal base of Tver and Kalanchevskaya Square.
Since then, buses have been constantly transformed. Its capacity has increased to 50, 100 and 200 people. Currently, special vehicles are being built to deliver people to the airport, organize excursions and bus tours around the countries. Some of them reach 40 meters in length and can accommodate up to 500 passengers!
Now one can only sympathize with those who, more than 100 years ago, had to ride in open cabs in the damned rain and snow. The most modern buses are considered a joke because they offer mass service throughout the entire trip. With TV, toilets and Wi-Fi, it’s hard to complain about the level of comfort. And there is no reason to believe that buses will stop or lose popularity in their development.
To drive a bus you will need a license with a certain category. You have the opportunity to study at a special school and receive a certificate only by passing an exam. Some people think it’s easier buy a bus license and get a driver’s license without passing an exam, but in this case you need to remember about criminal liability.
