The British make over 3.6 billion bus journeys a year, so it is safe to assume that bus travel is a familiar experience for most of us. Obviously, there will be local differences – an infrequent country bus service where local residents meet and chat is very different from a busy London bus – but the basic rules of behaviour are the same.

Boarding

Queuing is often seen as an integral aspect of British culture, but it is a comparatively recent innovation. In 1937 the London Passenger Transport Board passed byelaws enforcing queues for trams and buses when there were more than six people were waiting. This byelaw was enforced; in May 1939 a man was fined ten shillings for jumping a bus queue of seventy people. Wartime privations meant queues became an essential part of British culture, and postwar rationing led to another decade of enforced queuing. By then, the urge to queue appeared to have become an indispensable part of the British psyche.

However, the orderly bus queue has not survived into the 21st century. Nowadays, people tend to throng around a bus stop, rather than form a line leading from it. But even if you are not joining a regimented queue, you should still be aware of your own status and the priority of other people. It is good manners to stand back and allow people who were at the bus stop before you to board, rather than barging in front of people who have been waiting longer. You should always give priority to older people, parents with pushchairs, wheelchair-users and so on.

Tickets

There are a myriad different payment systems on different bus routes, ranging from cash, to dedicated travelcards or debit cards. If possible, check out how to pay first, but even if you’re uncertain make sure that you have your cash and cards ready and accessible. Nobody is more unpopular on a busy bus than the person who rummages around in a huge bag desperately seeking their purse or wallet, or the phone-user who spends ages swiping their phone screen trying to find their digital wallets or travelcards.

Move Down the Bus!

Buses are frequently overcrowded and carry large numbers of standing passengers, so it is essential that you move down the bus, away from the driver. Try and spread out and don’t bunch up near the exit doors, or at the bottom of the stairs on double-deckers.

Take Your Seat

If you’re lucky enough to get a seat, remember that you are only entitled to one seat per person and it is extremely rude on overcrowded buses to use an adjoining seat as a storage space for your extra bags and luggage –nobody should ever have to ask you to move your bag. Keep your bags on your lap or put them down on the floor between your feet.

Do not take up a priority seat (always clearly labelled) and offer a seat to those who may need one (eg older people, people carrying crutches or walking sticks, or with young children). If you are worried about offending someone (eg if you are unsure whether they are pregnant) just get up discreetly and the other person may sit if they wish.

Children should be seated – either on their own seat – or, if they are small and the bus is crowded, on your lap. They should never be allowed to wander around the bus.

Dogs are frequent bus passengers; keep an eye on them and ensure that they don’t stray into the aisle, where they can cause a dangerous obstruction.

Seats are for sitting on – never put your feet up on the seat opposite.

Be Convivial

Buses are generally the most convivial form of public transport, and you might find yourself falling into conversation with your neighbour. People behave in a much less self-contained way than they do on, for example, commuter trains and it is less likely to see bus passengers working on laptops or lost in reading a book. You may find buses are quite noisy, with lots of conversations going on around you.

For this reason, it is not considered particularly rude to speak on your mobile phone, although you might find that a bus is not a good place for a discreet or private conversation – you are in close proximity to lots of potential eavesdroppers.

However, if you want to look at videos on your phone, listen to music or podcasts, or hold a FaceTime conversation, ensure that you are using headphones or earbuds. There are limits to your fellow bus passengers’ noise tolerance.

Do Not Litter

We’ve probably all had the experience of being forced to remove discarded litter (especially takeaway food packaging) from a vacant seat or being uncomfortably aware of empty cans and bottles rolling around at our feet. Leaving your own debris on the bus is depressing for other passengers and it is essential that you take your litter away with you or use bins provided.

To Ventilate or Not to Ventilate?

It can be hard to moderate the temperature on buses and most of the time opening the windows is the best option. But your refreshing breeze might be another passenger’s howling draft, so don’t open or close windows without checking politely with other passengers first.

Disembarking

The bell to alert the driver that you want to get off at the next stop only needs to be rung once. Repeatedly dinging the bell is just irritating.

Get off promptly; if you're on the lower deck, and it’s safe to do so, move to the doors before the bus actually stops. If you’re on the upper deck, move promptly to the stairs and descend as quickly as possible (you may safely be able to do this before the stop if the bus is stationary in traffic).

Thank you!

In some towns and villages it is a pleasing custom to thank the bus-driver as you disembark. This would, of course, be considered bizarre behaviour on a crowded London bus, but observe the local customs and adhere to them.