- Airport bus
An Airport bus, or airport shuttle bus or airport shuttle is a
bus used to transport people to/from or withinairport s. These vehicles will usually be equipped with larger luggage space, and incorporate special branding.Airport buses have been in use since the 1960s, when nationalised operator
British European Airways employed the archetypal London redRoutemaster buses in a blue and white livery with luggage trailers on service toHeathrow Airport [ [http://www.flickr.com/photos/boxley/1051474173/ Image of a BEA Routemaster bus] ] .There are several types of airport bus operation:
On airport transfer
Bus transport within an airport may take the following forms, and be operated by the airport owner, an airline, or a contractor to either.
Airside transfer
In the cases where airports do not use a
Jet bridge , for long distance transfers or for reasons of safety, passengers will be transferred from theairport terminal arrival or departure gate to theaircraft using an airside transfer bus or "apron bus".Airside transfer buses can be of normal bus design, or due to not running on the public highway, can be extra long and wide [ [http://www.used-buses.net/bustypes/airport_bus.asp Bus type classification for airside transfer buses] ] , to hold the maximum number of passengers. Sometimes a
trailer bus is employed. Transfer buses are usually fitted with minimal or no seating, with passengers standing for the journey. Transfer buses will usually be fitted with beacons for operating airside nearrunways . They may also feature driving cabs at both ends.Terminal transfer
In cases where the airport features multiple terminals which are far apart or not physically connected, and where there exists no
people mover or other transfer alternative, a free transfer bus may be employed to transfer connecting passengers from one terminal to another. [ [http://stevebenson9696.fotopic.net/p35594381.html Image of aBritish Airways transfer bus atHeathrow Airport Terminal 4] ] [ [http://www.flickr.com/photos/southerncalifornian/2215799510/ Image of a free shuttle bus atLAX Airport ] ] . Terminal transfer may also be incorporated into public transport bus networks.Car park transfer
In cases where the airport owned or affiliated
car park s are large or relatively far from the terminal building, the airport owner or contractor may provide free car park shuttle buses [ [http://www.flickr.com/photos/mslrman/2268126256/ Image ofSouthampton Airport car park shuttle bus] ] making circular or shuttle runs between terminals and car park bus stands.Off airport transfer
Third party companies offering services to airline passengers may also operate buses as part of their business, with pick-up and drop off points near the airport terminal, and extra luggage space. These usually comprise:
* Off airport car parking services. These car park providers provide cheap car-parking some distance from the airport, by transferring passengers in shuttle buses. These can be anywhere from luxury coaches, full size buses orminibus es, sometimes fitted with luggagetrailer s.
*Car rental companies. Often, car rental providers will have their vehicles stored off-site, and transfer customers in regular buses.Public bus services
Several
public transport operations may include airport focused services, such as:Intermodal shuttle buses
Some transport companies may provide shuttle buses between railway stations and airports, with
transit bus es fitted for extra luggage space. These are sometimes supported financially by the airport or railway company.Durham Tees Valley Airport contractsArriva North East bus company to provide a free shuttle bus for airport passengers [ [http://www.skyexpress.co.uk/ Sky Express shuttle bus] ] . Railway operatorFirst Capital Connect operates a fare paying shuttle bus fromLuton Airport Parkway railway station toLuton Airport using articulatedWright StreetCar vehicles [ [http://daveheath.fotopic.net/p47935023.html Image ofLuton Airport Wright StreetCar railway shuttle bus] ] .Premium airlink services
Bus companies that operate normal
transit bus services may often operate a premium fare route to an airport alongside their standard routes, using specially branded [ [http://rtranmers2007.fotopic.net/p46326193.html Image ofDublin Bus airlink branded premium service bus] ] vehicles with extra luggage space. These routes are usually limited stop, rather than point to pointshuttle buses.Newly privatised London Buses operated an "Airbus" service from
Victoria Coach Station toHeathrow Airport in the 1990s, although this was withdrawn afterLondon Underground and rail links were improved.Demand responsive shuttle buses
Some public bus operators have moved into the
demand responsive transport sector, bridging the gap between premium fixed route bus services and private hire airporttaxicab s, incorporating an area in which the service can vary its route to pick up pre-booked passengers. Unlike private hire firms, these are still legally public buses. Examples include dot2dot fromNational Express Group , and the Edinburgh Shuttle operated byLothian Buses , which feature high specificationminibus based vehicles with luggage space.Express services
Several long distance express bus and coach operators make airports hubs of their service networks, such as
National Express Coaches Airport services. These services do not necessarily use vehicles that have any extra modification beyond the standard express bus or coach specification, although they will usually carry a livery indicating the airport service, and special route numbers such as "747".A specialist express bus operation is that of the likes of
easyBus , that runsminibus services from stops in London direct toLuton Airport .Terminal transfer
In the case where different airport terminals are far apart and not linked by other modes, public bus operators may choose to provide a route to link the two terminals, either as a point to point shuttle or as part of a standard route network. A specialist example being the
Crawley Fastway , which is abus rapid transit scheme which at the heart of its route network links the North and South terminals ofGatwick Airport .Railair
RailAir , or Railair, services are designed to connect railway stations to airports, where there is no direct train link.Other non airport bus services
tandard bus services
In addition to the specially equipped or liveried buses that serve airports, several non-specific bus services may also call at airports. These are often scheduled outside normal operating hours to serve the airport workers and passengers with unsociable flight times as well as normal passengers.
Private hire
Several private hire airport transfer companies, or airport focused
taxicab operators, also useminibus es, to varying specifications, for transporting groups of people.ee also
*
People mover External links
* [http://www.bus-photo.net/search/gallery.php?service=airport&per_page=16 Images of Apron buses]
* [http://swanswell.fotopic.net/p46205212.html Image ofNew Jersey Transit Airport Express bus]
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/46901841@N00/168579985/in/photostream/ Interior view of luggage space in a Newark airport bus]References
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