There is no doubt when we say that technology has really impacted the way we live and the world at large.

As transportation is concerned, we wouldn’t have enjoyed much broad relationships between humans of different races and cultures as we do today if not for car, aircraft, boat etc inventions.

In 2016 for examples, the US National Transit Database (NTD) which is the Federal Transit Administration’s ( FTA’s), recorded about 10.2 billion trips on public transportation and revealed in their statistics that transit ridership has significantly increased in the last decade.

Also in UK, there are more than four billion trips in England in 2016 and 2017. The demand to making transportation becoming easier, cost effective, comfortable and safe have been high in recent decades and in most developed countries like USA, UK, France, Germany, Australia etc, so much advancement in ridership has been experienced.

This is evident in the development of transit agencies, public transportation business and services in States and cities in America and England since it provides more job opportunities, affordable alternative to driving, easier mobility, reduces the usage of gasoline and several other benefits.

To appreciate the evolution of buses and the effects of technology in the auto industry, there are much changes in car manufacturing processes across different components of the car like the engine, seats, lights etc, body building, policies related to car assembly plant, the companies etc as safety is a subject of concern.

To get more fact about these developments, we’ve partnered with the Oxford Tube, an Oxford to London coach, to evaluate the advancement in the public transport system/service.

Commuters don’t only go through buses but also enjoy both there short and long trips through, subways, Trolleys, monorails, cable cars, light rail, tramways, Ferries and water taxis and some Americans even love riding inclined plane or funicular while people with physical challenges use Paratransit services.

What kinds of buses were used in the past and what was transportation through cars was in the past, this takes us through a brief overview of the advancement of technology on car manufacturing, structures in terms of dimensions, weight, amenities etc

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What are Steam buses ?

Steam buses really changed the horse-drawn form of transportation after it was introduced in the early eighteen century in England and pioneered by Walter Hancock and and the associates of Sir Goldsworthy Gurney.

It provided better comfort, make travelling faster, safer, had better break that don’t lock and drag, help in avoiding horse-drawn carriage overturn, cheaper as it was more cost effective and affordable.

But later, engineers revealed that steam carriages are responsible for most damages to the road surface because of the continuous ‘grinding’ of the horses’ feet and this brought policies that those who were into this business found very unfriendly. Also, with increment in tolls, steam buses later became unused.

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How Trolleybuses overtook Steam buses

Just as steam buses becoming ‘old fashion’, electronic trolleybus evolved around 1882 and was engineered with a trolley pole and an overhead wire, hence the name electronic bus or overhead wire bus and it was much used in US, UK, Korea, India etc.

It was recorded that England based William Siemen collaborated with his brother, Werner who at that time stayed in Germany to engineer the trolleybuses.

It is made in such a way that Electric currents were able to run to the tram-car and back again, highlighting that tracks would no longer need to be used.

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Trolleybuses were also introduced tonne used in the UK for the first time in 1911, and Leeds and Bradford were the first cities where the services first started.

The era of Motor Buses

Motorbuses are buses with internal combustion engine and were first used in 1895. Records also showed that London had their first motorbuses on the roads in 1898, having a double-decker with an open-air platform.

The bus could run a speed of 18kph at maximum and accommodate at least 20 passengers at a time. Later, it became very popular and other European countries begin to use it.

In 1902, the standards for making it and selling it standard were made and A B-Type double-decker bus was one of the first set of buses that was commercially produced on a large scale in the United kingdom due to its acceptance and the motorbuses services grew quickly to about 3,000 services in 1910.

Some changes in the transportation system

There are still buses with single-decker and double-decker today which use diesel oil and for what we now have today, the electric buses are now having there battery supply, usually liquid battery that is rechargeable and not overhead wires again.

As technology get advanced, we have more innovations. Also, new challenges and policies can also influence design in auto industry.

For example, the high-floor vehicles are not common again except some Jeeps since cars with low-floor design do help with air suspension and also enable the physically challenged people who’re on wheelchair and baby on stroller to go in better.

So much development in transportation business as a result of technology becoming smarter. Vehicle drivers can now calculate and print ticket prices online, travellers can also book vehicles online and make payment and also select drivers or vehicle for their travels.

Before, making the transaction and tracking vehicles were not easy but now, everything can be read right from the office and buses can be tracked all day.

A two-way driver messaging system can also be used, and selling of card top-ups online and getting them delivered to the clients using their party courier service.

If you’ve your smartcards and with credit on it, you can book your transport service from the issuer company at any time and for your tickets that have been programmed on the card, it can be quickly read by a scanner and your booking information would be assessed and once the information is valid, you’ll be directed to the bus chosen for your travel.

There are also mobile and web apps that are now used for tracking cars, booking, making enquiries about services, getting real time update, submitting travel ticket to driver right on your smartphone and making everything easy for commuters.