A coach is a bus used for longer-distance service, in contrast to transit buses that are typically used within a single metropolitan region. Often used for touring, intercity, and international bus service, coaches are also used for private charter for various purposes. Deriving the name from horse-drawn carriages and stagecoaches that carried passengers, luggage, and mail, modern motor coaches are almost always high-floor buses, with a separate luggage hold mounted below the passenger compartment. In contrast to transit buses, motor coaches typically feature forward-facing seating, with no provision for standing. Other accommodations may include on-board restrooms, televisions, and overhead luggage space.
History
Background
Horse-drawn chariots and carriages were used by the wealthy and powerful where the roads were of a high enough standard from possibly 3000 BC. In Hungary, during the reign of King Matthias Corvinus in the 15th century, the wheelwrights of Kocs began to build a horse-drawn vehicle with steel-spring suspension. This "cart of Kocs" as the Hungarians called it soon became popular all over Europe. The imperial post service employed the first horse-drawn mail coaches in Europe since Roman times in 1650, and as they started in the town of Kocs, the use of these mail coaches gave rise to the term "coach". Stagecoaches were used for transport between cities from about 1500 in Great Britain until displaced by the arrival of the railways. One of the earliest motorised vehicles was the charabanc, which was used for short journeys and excursions until the early years of the 20th century. The first "motor coaches" were purchased by operators of those horse-drawn vehicles in the early 20th century by operators such as Royal Blue Coach Services, who purchased their first charabanc in 1913 and were running 72 coaches by 1926.
Features
Coaches, as they hold passengers for significant periods of time on long journeys, are designed for comfort. They vary considerably in quality from country to country and within countries. Higher specification vehicles include luxury seats and air conditioning. Coaches typically have only a single, narrow door, but sometimes they have two doors, as an increased loading time is acceptable due to infrequent stops. Some characteristics include:
Comfortable seats that may include a folding table, armrests, and recliner. Comfort is considered to be an important feature in coaches.
Baggage holds, accessed from outside the vehicle, often under the main floor or at the rear, where passengers' luggage can be stowed away from the seating area
Passenger service units, mounted overhead, on which personal reading lights and air conditioning ducts can be controlled and used by individual passengers with little disturbance to other passengers
In some European countries following the 1958 type certification treaty, coach type certification is regulated by regulation number 107 from the UNECE.
Image gallery
Modern coaches
A representative selection of vehicles currently in use in different parts of the world.
Vintage coaches
A selection of vehicles in use in different parts of the world in the past.
