Anairport bus, orairport shuttle bus, alternatively simplyairport shuttle orshuttle bus is abus designed for transport of passengers to and from, or withinairports. These vehicles will usually be equipped with larger luggage space, and incorporate special branding. They are also commonly (but not always) painted with bright colours to stand out among other airport vehicles and to be easily seen by the crews of taxiing aircraft when negotiating theaprons.
Airport buses have been in use since the 1960s, when nationalised operatorBritish European Airways employed the archetypal London redAEC Routemaster buses in a blue and white livery with luggage trailers on service toHeathrow Airport.[1]
Airport buses (or Apron passenger buses) are primarily used as a means of passenger transportation between airport terminals and remote aircraft parking positions. They might be operated either by Airport Authority, Airline or a third party operator.
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When the aircraft is not usingjetbridge at a terminal and usinghardstand for parking, or for long distance transfers or for reasons of safety, passengers will be transferred from theairport terminal arrival or departuregate to theaircraft using an airside transfer bus orapron bus.
Airside transfer buses can be of normal municipaltransit bus design, or due to not running on the public highway, can be extra long and wide,[2] to hold the maximum number of passengers. Sometimes atrailer bus is employed. Transfer buses are usually fitted with minimal or no seating, with passengers standing for the journey. Sometimes for larger aircraft acoach is used to ferry customers to or from the terminal as coaches hold more people.[clarification needed] Transfer buses will usually be fitted with flashing beacons for operating airside nearrunways. They may also featuredriving cabs at both ends.
Washington Dulles airport usesmobile lounges with a liftable passenger cabin for airside transfer; they work as a combination of an airside bus and a jet bridge.
There are two leading manufacturers of purpose built airport buses: Mallaghan Engineering LTD from Northern Ireland andCobus industries GmbH.
In cases where the airport features multiple terminals which are far apart or not physically connected, and where there exists nopeople mover or other transfer alternative, azero-fare transfer bus may be employed to transfer connecting passengers from one terminal to another.[3][4] Terminal transfer may also be incorporated into public transport bus networks.
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In cases where the airport owned or affiliatedcar parks are large or relatively far from the terminal building, the airport owner or contractor may provide free car park shuttle buses[5] making circular or shuttle runs between terminals and car park bus stands.
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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:
Severalpublic transport operations may include airport focused services, such as:
Some transport companies may provide shuttle buses between railway stations and airports, withtransit buses fitted for extra luggage space. These are sometimes supported financially by the airport or railway company. In England,Durham Tees Valley Airport contractedArriva North East bus company to provide afree shuttle bus for airport passengers.[6]
Until 2023, railway operatorGovia Thameslink Railway operated a fare-paying shuttle bus fromLuton Airport Parkway railway station toLuton Airport,[7] but this has since been replaced by anautomated people mover transit line,Luton DART.[8]
In addition, some airlines run bus services from a city's bus terminal to an airport or, in other cases, connecting two airports whose cities' population sizes are deemed too small for them to have air service between each other. One example of the former isSingapore Airlines' bus service from downtownNewark, New Jersey toNewark Liberty International Airport. An example of the latter isUnited Airlines service fromBeaumont Airport inBeaumont, Texas toHouston George Bush Intercontinental Airport inHouston, which used to be done on United ExpressSAAB 340 aircraft but which is now run on a bus.
Bus companies that operate normaltransit bus services may often operate a premium fare route to an airport alongside their standard routes, using specially branded[9] vehicles with extra luggage space. These routes are usually limited stop, rather than point to pointshuttle buses.
Newlyprivatised London Buses operated anAirbus service fromVictoria Coach Station toHeathrow Airport in the 1990s, although this was withdrawn afterLondon Underground andHeathrow Express rail links were improved.
Some public bus operators have moved into thedemand responsive transport sector, bridging the gap between premium fixed route bus services and private hire airporttaxicabs, 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 includeDot2Dot fromNational Express, and the Edinburgh Shuttle operated byLothian Buses, which feature high specificationminibus based vehicles with luggage space.
Several long-distance express bus and coach operators make airports hubs of their service networks, such asNational 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 as747 (referencing theBoeing 747).
A specialist express bus operation is that of the likes ofeasyBus, that runsminibus services from stops in London direct toLuton Airport.
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 theFastway, which is abus rapid transit scheme which at the heart of its route network links the north and south terminals ofGatwick Airport.
RailAir, or Railair, services are designed to connect railway stations to airports, where there is nodirect train link.
In addition to the specially equipped or liveried buses that help airports, several non-specific bus services may also stop or terminate 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.
Several private hire airport transfer companies, or airport focusedtaxicab operators,[10] also useminibuses orminivans,[11] to varying specifications, for transporting groups of people.
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