Bus

:This article is about the form of transport. See computer bus or electrical bus for the use of the term in computing and electronics respectively, or places like Bus, Pas-de-Calais and Bus-Saint-Rémy.

Buses in a social context

Buses are an intrinsic part of everyday life, and play an important part in the social fabric of many countries.

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United States

Intercity travel

Intercity bus services have become an important travel connection to smaller towns and rural areas in the United States that do not have airports or train service.

Related Topics:
United States - Airports - Train

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Busing for racial purposes

In some areas of the United States, a forced busing system has been used to achieve racial desegregation of public schools. Under a busing plan, children do not necessarily go to the nearest school geographically, but to such a school where there is an appropriate racial mix.

Related Topics:
Forced busing - Desegregation

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Buses and segregation

Bus services were also a focal point in the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s in the United States. In the period after the American Civil War ended in 1865, racial segregation in public accommodations, including public transport such as rail and bus services, was enforced through Black Codes and Jim Crow laws. These were made to prevent African-Americans from doing things that a white person could do. For instance, Jim Crow laws required bus drivers to enforce separate seating sections. These laws and enforcement varied among communities and states.

Related Topics:
American Civil Rights Movement - 1950s - 1960s - United States - American Civil War - 1865 - Racial segregation - Public transport - Black Codes - Jim Crow - African-American - White

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In 1955, after a long day of work, Rosa Parks, a black seamstress, was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama for refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a public bus, bringing attention to the injustice of differential and degrading treatment based solely upon race. This incident, boycotts of bus services, other protests, and court challenges led a U.S. Supreme Court ruling banning segregation on public buses and helped lead the U.S. Congress to the pass the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act which clarified the unconstitutionality of public racial segregation laws.

Related Topics:
1955 - Rosa Parks - Montgomery, Alabama - U.S. Supreme Court - U.S. Congress - 1964 Civil Rights Act

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Tourism

Some places have buses that resemble streetcars in order to attract tourists or otherwise look nice (see right). A similar phenomenon is Duck Tours, which uses DUKWs converted into buses/cruise boats for tour purposes.

Related Topics:
Streetcar - Duck Tours - DUKW

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South America

In some countries of Latin America buses are very important as a primary means of transport and trade.

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