A combination bus, also called a truck bus or shift bus, is a purpose-built

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport freight, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construct ...

with a "passenger container" fulfilling the role of a

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

. Such vehicles used to be common in

developing countries A developing country is a sovereign state with a less-developed Secondary sector of the economy, industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to developed countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. ...

. Alternative combination buses can be a passenger/cargo module/container mounted on a truck chassis, or a bus with a large open or closed in cargo area known as a

bruck Bruck may refer to: People * Bruck (surname) * Bruck Dawit, Ethiopian–American musician and producer Places Bruck (Bavarian for "bridge") is a common name for towns: Austria * Bruck am Ziller, in the district of Schwaz in Tyrol * Bruck an de ...

Truck buses have been mainly used by the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

, the

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

anti-riot units,

public utilities A public utility company (usually just utility) is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service (often also providing a service using that infrastructure). Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and r ...

, as

school bus A school bus is any type of bus owned, leased, contracted to, or operated by a school or school district. It is regularly used to Student transport, transport students to and from school or school-related activities, but not including a charter ...

es, and by state owned companies on short routes for employees.

Construction

Combination buses are built by installing a complete box body equipped for transporting people onto a truck chassis. The body is independent and separate from the driver. There is usually no passage between the cab and box body but there is usually an

intercom An intercom, also called an intercommunication device, intercommunicator, or interphone, is a stand-alone voice communications system for use within a building, small collection of buildings or portably within a small coverage area, which funct ...

system. The body is equipped with windows, a separate internal lighting and heating and/or air conditioning systems. Related bodies are different types of mobile workshops or specialized military superstructure. Passenger comfort is generally minimal. Some companies such as Ha'argaz manufacture combination buses by installing a partial bus body on an all-wheel-drive truck chassis.

Usage

Due to the minimum of comfort provided by the combination bus, they are suitable for transport over short distances only. Specifically, the distribution of workers in large workplaces under the open sky such as a large construction site, agricultural labor, quarries or surface mines. Often these vehicles built on off-road vehicle chassis. These vehicles are also used as police intervention units,

commando A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force, specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines. Originally, "a commando" was a type of combat unit, as oppo ...

s and anti-terrorism units. Such shift buses are the most popular mode of transport in the field of oil mining. They allow you to leave quite far from populated areas, while it is relatively comfortable to transport the entire workforce with the possibility of spending the night. In some such trucks, sleeping places are provided, since the work shift can last up to a week, while this can happen in the conditions of a polar night with frost up to -50 degrees Celsius (-58 Fahrenheit). Powerful heating and insulation are installed in the salons.

Gallery

File:Interpolitex 2010 (334-35).jpg, Russian Police Ural-572060 also known as VM-4320 File:Cikupa-20111121-00147 manhauler bus.jpg, Cikupa manhauler File:Star 200 buda (1).JPG, Star 200 truck with passengers bodywork for the Milicja in Poland. File:Tiyulit0769.JPG, Modern Tiyulit (Hebrew for "trip truck") in Israel used for transporting IDF soldiers in open non-paved terrain. File:KamAZ-44108-based off-road bus in Krasnoyarsk Krai.jpg, NefAZ-4208/4951 shift bus based on a KamAZ-44108. File:Thai-Songthaew.JPG, Medium-sized Hino Songthaew (truck bus) as seen in

Sakon Nakhon Sakon Nakhon (, ; sometimes written Sakhon Nakhon) is a city (thesaban nakhon) in Thailand within the Isan region, and capital city of Sakon Nakhon Province as well as Mueang Sakon Nakhon District, with a population of approximately 76,000. Sako ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. File:Ural-375D-based bus in Tajikistan.jpg, Ural-375D 'truckbus' in

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...

. File:Camioneta-Bus Santiago de Cuba 2013.JPG, GMC New Design truckbus File:BCA truck bus 21.jpg, Opel Blitz combination bus File:Котлас, район Лименда (02).JPG, GAZ combination bus File:Songthaew Isuzu 8221 8221-7.jpg, Medium-sized

Isuzu , commonly known as Isuzu (, ), is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. Its principal activity is the production, marketing and sale of Isuzu commercial vehicles and diesel engines ...

Songthaew (truck bus) as seen in Samut Sakhon,

. File:Almazora Bus body Canter Truck.jpg, Fuso Canter Modern PUV, Philippines (Cab is separate and can be tipped over, unlike most conversions which weld it to the bus box)

References

{{buses Buses by type Trucks

Construction

Usage

Gallery

See also

References