Rail replacement bus service

Not to be confused with Railbus or Railroad bus.

Metroline Plaxton President bodied Dennis Trident 2 rail replacement bus in London

A rail replacement bus service uses buses to replace a passenger train service on a temporary or permanent basis. The train service that is replaced may be of any type such as light rail, tram, streetcar, commuter rail, regional rail or heavy rail, intercity passenger service. The rail service may be replaced if the line is closed because of rail maintenance, a breakdown of a train, a rail accident or a strike action or to simply provide additional capacity or if the rail service is deemed not economically viable.

Terms for a rail replacement bus service include bustitution (a portmanteau of the words "bus" and "substitution", or bustitute)[1] and bus bridge.[2] Substitution of rail services by buses can be unpopular and subject to criticism and so the term bustitution is often used pejoratively.[3][4]

  1. ^ "Definition of bustitution". Macmillan Publishers Ltd.
  2. ^ 'Limited MTA service backj Thursday' on New York Daily News website, viewed 9 July 2013
  3. ^ An example appears in a 2009 editorial. See: Parker, Christopher (19 January 2009). "Statement on the bustitution of the Ethan Allen Express". Vermont Rail Action Network. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  4. ^ Weyrich, Paul M. and William S. Lind (May 1999). "Does Transit Work? A Conservative Reappraisal" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. Retrieved 7 September 2016.