Sharp increases in operating costs in recent years have caused transit authorities to look for relief through higher bus driver productivity. Use of high-capacity buses can result in increased driver productivity. An important evaluation of nearly 400 high-capacity articulated buses has been underway in cities across the United States since 1978. Some results of that evaluation are now available, and a significant expansion of the nation’s articulated bus fleet is underway.
This paper discusses the history of the articulated bus, the results of the evaluation of M.A.N. articulated buses in the U.S., and the M.A.N. program for expansion of articulated bus service in the U.S.