History Main / BusesAreForFreaks

* A common benchmark of mental development in the late 1940s was that a nine-year-old child should be able to independently take the city bus to their EverytownAmerica city's downtown, such as to the central library, and return home without requiring the direct assistance of adults.

After the Great Depression in the United States, intercity bus ridership took off due to its relative affordability when compared to long-distance train travel. Greyhound Lines, the predominant intercity carrier in the United States, surpassed the passenger volume of all Class I (large) railroads in 1935. Due to anti-competition regulations enacted by the Interstate Commerce Commission, Greyhound was effectively granted a monopoly on many of its routes, particularly in the lower-demand Midwest.

In part due to the affordability and attractiveness of new suburban developments in TheFifties, as well as the passage by Dwight D. Eisenhower of the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, local transit ridership plunged dramatically. Compounded by regulations that imposed comparatively high tax rates on privately-operated electric traction railways and declining ridership, many lines were converted to bus operations throughout the 1950s and 1960s. While the conversion of service to more affordable buses did help the private transit companies' bottom line, it was only a temporary relief; in the late 1960s and early 1970s, many private transit companies were folded into tax-supported publicly-operated systems.

At the same time many transit systems were in financial disarray, the Civil Rights Movement was reaching its peak. In 1955, Rosa Parks refused to relinquish her seat on a National City Lines bus in Montgomery, Alabama to a white customer. Her actions sparked protests nationwide and an outright boycott of the local private bus company for a year, until a [[{{AmericanCourts}} Supreme Court]] decision ruled that race-based segregation on buses was unconstitutional. Transportation segregation shifted from being seat-based to mode-based; instead of sitting next to black residents, white residents fled Montgomery, Alabama and other American cities for the suburbs, where few black residents resided.

[[folder: Literature ]]
* In ''Literature/BloodsuckingFiends'', Jody ends up on a bus shortly after her vampiric transformation, and this trope is in full force, exemplified by the flasher.
* ''Literature/HarryPotter'': the one time Harry takes The Knight Bus, it's full of odd and colorful characters. TheFilmOfTheBook takes this idea and runs with it. Mundungus Fletcher, who was pretty much unsavory as a career choice, rode it on the regular.

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* In the ''Series/BroadCity'' episode "Destination: Wedding", the main characters board a bus to Connecticut filled with highly shady folks, one of whom proceeds to upset a tray of full of fish on Abbi.

[[folder: Music ]]

* Music/WeirdAlYankovic- His song "Another One Rides The Bus" (parodied from the Music/{{Queen}} song "Another One Bites The Dust") portrays the bus as being smelly and crowded, and makes mentions of bums, perverts and freaks riding it.
* The Fatima Mansions' song "Only Losers Take the Bus" takes the form of an unhinged rant by someone who believes this ([[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin check the title]]) and protests a little too strongly that he's not one of them.
* Jonathan Richman's song "You're Crazy for Taking the Bus" is a little more ambivalent than its title suggests. Jonathan admits that long-distance bus travel is disgusting, but he likes it for the people-watching (and because air travel is even ''worse''.)

[[folder: Webcomics ]]
* ''Webcomic/{{IDGet}}''. One gag strip shows StrawberryShortcake clearly uncomfortable taking the bus, as other passengers gather around her to smell her hair.
* ''Webcomic/SomeoneStoleMyPanties''. In one strip, Mosi fawns over a cute guy she sees on the bus - which doesn't go unnoticed by him; after she gets off at her stop, he thinks to himself what a weirdo she is.

[[folder: Web Original ]]
* Website/TheOnion
** "[[http://www.theonion.com/articles/30-miserable-lives-lost-in-greyhound-bus-crash,2339/ 30 Miserable Lives Lost in Greyhound Bus Crash]]"
** "[[http://www.theonion.com/article/man-with-serious-mental-illness-committed-to-city--37823 Man With Serious Mental Illness Committed To City Bus]]"

[[folder: Western Animation ]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}''. Invoked in "Lost!", where Buster and Francine fear for Arthur when they learn he's taking a city bus down town to the public pool for his swimming lessons - Buster heard of a bus who picked up a passenger and never made anymore stops before blasting off into outer space, while Francine heard of a kid who was never allowed off the bus for not having enough fare. Arthur becomes understandably nervous when he finally boards the bus, and is a little uncomfortable to see every single one of the other passengers are adults preoccupied with reading the paper.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' tends to make fun of public transporation. There's Homer Simpson's refusal to ride the bus because they tend to be full of, in his view, "jerks and lesbians". Ironically, because of this, Marge is able to find him easier in "El Viage de Mysterioso de Nuestro Jomer".
* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': Dipper and Mabel arrive by bus to visit Grunkle Stan. But when he tries to send them home in part one of the first season finale, he sends them by bus because it's all he can afford, having lost the Mystery Shack to Gideon's evil machinations. To emphasize the grossness of the bus, Mabel tries to cheer up Dipper by playing a game of identifying the stains under the bus seats.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Real Life ]]
* Greyhound, the dominant intercity bus company in the United States, has been referred to as the poor mans' 4-feet-high, 65 mph airline. Due to the less stringent security buses feature, with minimal to non-existent identification checks as well as basically no screening of the passengers or their luggage, buses are often used to move significant amounts of illicit drugs. See more [[http://www.citylab.com/commute/2012/08/how-not-make-friends-greyhound-bus/2839 here]].
* Due to the poor service frequency as well as meandering routes, bus ridership on suburban local buses is often primarily people without access to a vehicle. This can range from repeat DUI offenders to the physically disabled - the common thread being that due to their social status, they are effectively forced to use public transit while the norm is car travel.
* Aversion, especially in college towns and larger cities. Due to the higher cost of driving and parking in dense cities, as well as the number of households that voluntarily choose not to own a car, bus ridership is often more reflective of the middle class as a whole.
* A common benchmark of mental development in the late 1940s was that a nine-year-old child should be able to independently take the city bus to their EverytownAmerica city's downtown, such as to the central library, and return home without requiring the direct assistance of adults.
[[/folder]]

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[[AC: LiveActionTV]]

[[AC: {{Literature}}]]

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[[AC: {{Music}}]]

[[AC: {{Webcomics}}]]

[[AC:Web Original]]

[[AC: WesternAnimation]]

[[AC: RealLife]]

* Website/TheOnion once had an article titled "[[http://www.theonion.com/articles/30-miserable-lives-lost-in-greyhound-bus-crash,2339/ 30 Miserable Lives Lost in Greyhound Bus Crash]]"

A common variation on this trope is "leaving to make their fortune in the wide world", either by becoming a star or joining the military. It usually highlights the character getting on the bus as a wide-eyed naif who has no idea what the real world is like. If the medium is lighthearted, the naif will meet all the weirdos on the bus, and make friends or at least see them in an optimistic light as possible. If the medium is more serious (or even DarkerAndEdgier), the naif will sit uneasily beside the oddballs or try to pretend they're not off-putting and unnerving.

A common variation on this trope is "leaving to make their fortune in the wide world", either by becoming a star or joining the military. It usually highlights the character getting on the bus as a wide-eyed naif who has no idea what the real world is like. If the medium is lighthearted, the naif will meet all the weirdos on the bus, and make friends or at least see them in as optimistic a light as possible. If the medium is more serious (or even DarkerAndEdgier), the naif will sit uneasily beside the oddballs or try to pretend they're not off-putting and unnerving.

Since the early 2000s, bus ridership as well as the image of bus transportation has increased positively. Compounding factors such as reinvestment in service, a newly-found focus on environmentalism, Millenials postponing getting their drivers license, as well as an aging [[{{BabyBoomers}} Baby Boomer]]. population reluctant to drive have all contributed to increasing ridership. To some extent even intercity bus travel has shed its prior image; legacy operators like Greyhound as well as new entrants such as Megabus compete on factors such as internet availability and express routes that don't stop in every farming village with three people.

A common variation on this trope is "leaving to make their fortune in the wide world", either by becoming a star or joining the military. It usually highlights the character getting on the bus as a wide-eyed naif who has no idea what the real world is like. If the medium is lighthearted, the naif will meet all the weirdos on the bus, and make friends or at least see them in as optimistic a light as possible. If the medium is more serious (or even DarkerAndEdger), the naif will sit uneasily beside the oddballs or try to pretend they're not off-putting and unnerving.

Since the early 2000s, bus ridership as well as the image of bus transportation has increased positively. Compounding factors such as reinvestment in service, a newly-found focus on environmentalism, Millenials postponing getting their drivers license, as well as an aging BabyBoomer population reluctant to drive have all contributed to increasing ridership. To some extent even intercity bus travel has shed its prior image; legacy operators like Greyhound as well as new entrants such as Megabus compete on factors such as internet availability and express routes that don't stop in every farming village with three people.

A common variation on this trope is "leaving to make their fortune in the wide world", either by becoming a star or joining the military. It usually highlights the character getting on the bus as a wide-eyed naif who has no idea what the real world is like. If the medium is lighthearted, the naif will meet all the weirdos on the bus, and make friends or at least see them in as optimistic a light as possible. If the medium is more realistic, the naif will sit uneasily beside the oddballs or try to pretend they're not off-putting and unnerving.

* ''Film/PlanesTrainsAndAutomobiles''. Pete and Griffith have to resort to Greyhound after their train breaks down. A couple in the adjacent row makes out passionately, with the woman reaching across the center aisle to Pete. Intercity bus travel fits in with the eccentric nature of Griffith, but is contrary to the conservative character of Pete.

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': Dipper and Mabel arrive by bus to visit Grunkle Stan. But when he tries to send them home in part one of the first season finale, he sends them by bus because it's all he can afford, having lost the Mystery Shack to Gideon's evil machinations. To emphasize the grossness of the bus, Mabel tries to cheer up Dipper by playing a game based on gross stuff they find in and under the bus seats.

How does an author demonstrate that their character lacks the resources to use "proper" transportation such as planes, trains, or automobiles? Why, they get PutOnABus (in the [[{{CaptainObvious}} literal sense]]).

* A common benchmark of mental development in the late 1940s was that a nine-year-old child should be able to independently take the city bus to their AnywhereUSA city's downtown, such as to the central library, and return home without requiring the direct assistance of adults.

At the same time many transit systems were in financial disarray, the Civil Rights Movement was reaching its peak. In 1955, Rosa Parks refused to relinquish her seat on a National City Lines bus in Montgomery, Alabama to a white customer. Her actions sparked protests nationwide and an outright boycott of the local private bus company for a year, until a [[{{UsefulNotes:AmericanCourts}} Supreme Court]] decision ruled that race-based segregation on buses was unconstitutional. Transportation segregation shifted from being seat-based to mode-based; instead of sitting next to black residents, white residents fled Montgomery, Alabama and other American cities for the suburbs, where few black residents resided.

At the same time many transit systems were in financial disarray, the Civil Rights Movement was reaching its peak. In 1955, RosaParks refused to relinquish her seat on a National City Lines bus in Montgomery, Alabama to a white customer. Her actions sparked protests nationwide and an outright boycott of the local private bus company for a year, until a SupremeCourt decision ruled that race-based segregation on buses was unconstitutional. Transportation segregation shifted from being seat-based to mode-based; instead of sitting next to black residents, white residents fled Montgomery, Alabama and other American cities for the suburbs, where few black residents resided.

Since the early 2000s, bus ridership as well as the image of bus transportation has increased positively. Compounding factors such as reinvestment in service, a newly-found focus on environmentalism, Millenials postponing getting their drivers license, as well as an aging BabyBoomer population reluctant to drive have all contributed to increasing ridership. To some extent even intercity bus travel has shed its prior image; legacy operators like Greyhound as well as new entrants such as Megabus compete on factors such as WiFi availability and express routes that don't stop in every farming village with three people.

* ''Music/WeirdAlYankovic''- His song "Another One Rides The Bus" (parodied from the ''Music/{{Queen}}'' song "Another One Bites The Dust") portrays the bus as being smelly and crowded, and makes mentions of bums, perverts and freaks riding it.

* [[DoctorWho The Seventh Doctor]] loathes bus stations: "Terrible places full of lost luggage and lost souls."

* In contrast to Leonore Skenazy, a common benchmark of mental development in the late 1940s was that a nine-year-old child should be able to independently take the city bus to their AnywhereUSA city's downtown, such as to the central library, and return home without requiring the direct assistance of adults.

* ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'': Jerry takes the train to Coney Island to get a Nathan's hot dog. He falls asleep on the train and wakes up to discover that one of his fellow passengers has stripped off, riding the subway naked. Jerry is blase about this.

[[AC: NewspaperComics]]
* ''ComicStrip/GetFuzzy''. In one early color strip, Rob, Bucky, and Satchel take the subway, of which Bucky comments about always being full of weirdoes; we see that among other passengers on the subway include [[ComicStrip/BloomCounty Steve Dallas]], ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}}, and [[ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes Calvin]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'' the kids are terrified of taking the subway after dark, and when they have no other choice than to do it, find it's full of colorful shady characters. One is even a homeless man that keeps telling everyone to "get out of my house". In a {{subversion}} they realize they're actually pretty nice, decent people once they all come together to play midwife to a blind man's seeing eye dog.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' tends to make fun of public transporation.
** There's Homer Simpson's refusal to ride the bus because they tend to be full of, in his view, "jerks and lesbians". Ironically, because of this, Marge is able to find him easier in "El Viage de Mysterioso de Nuestro Jomer".
** An entire episode devoted to a crappy monorail that was constructed by some schyster who had swindled several communities with such boondoggles. So much that the original planned guest star for the episode, Creator/GeorgeTakei, refused to do the episode because they openly made fun of public transporation.

* In 2008, Leonore Skenazy permitted her nine-year-old child to return home from a shopping excursion on the NewYorkCitySubway alone. When word of this incident reached the media, comments were made by various individuals about how irresponsible it was for her to let her child travel on the subway alone, invoking this trope. See NBC's report on her [[http://www.nbcnews.com/id/21134540/vp/23932919#23932919 here]].
* In contrast to Skenazy, a common benchmark of mental development in the late 1940s was that a nine-year-old child should be able to independently take the city bus to their AnywhereUSA city's downtown, such as to the central library, and return home without requiring the direct assistance of adults.

What do we want? Hats! Where do we want them? On this trope page! When do we want them? Right Now!

!Examples

* In Film/StarTrekIVTheVoyageHome, Kirk and Spock are riding a San Francisco bus with a mohawked punk with a boom box. When Kirk asks if the punk will turn it down, the punk flips him the bird, and cranks the volume up even louder. Spock does the logical thing and Vulcan neck-pinches the guy, the boombox turns off, and the rest of the riders applaud.

* ''Series/Seinfeld'': Jerry takes the train to Cony Island to get a Nathan's hot dog. He falls asleep on the train and wakes up to discover that one of his fellow passengers has stripped off, riding the subway naked. Jerry is blase about this.