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A sleeper bus is a type of specially adapted coach with sleeping facilities for passengers. Like rail
sleeping car The sleeping car or sleeper (often ) is a railway passenger car (rail), passenger car that can accommodate all passengers in beds of one kind or another, for the purpose of sleeping. George Pullman was the main American innovator and owner of sl ...
s, they serve long haul passenger routes. Some are chartered to provide transport, hotel, and meal services for a group who will work together at several locations, or for tourists.


Private charter

Also known in the US as an entertainer coach and in Europe as a nightliner, a sleeper bus is often used to transport bands and their
technician A technician is a worker in a field of technology who is proficient in the relevant skill and technique, with a relatively practical understanding of the theoretical principles. Specialisation The term technician covers many different special ...
s and road crew between cities and shows. Other terms used are band bus, crew bus, entertainer bus, NightRider, sleeper coach, and tour bus. In Europe, such vehicles are full-sized coaches but are designed internally to carry only between 8 and 18 passengers. There are always full
galley A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for naval warfare, warfare, Maritime transport, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during ...
facilities, comfortable lounges and
bunk bed A bunk bed or set of bunks is a type of bed in which one bed frame (a bunk) is stacked on top of another bed, allowing two or more sleeping-places to occupy the floor space usually required by just one. Bunks are commonly seen on ships, in th ...
s to allow the passengers to eat, relax and sleep during the journey to the next gig or
concert A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...
. Such vehicles sometimes have blacked out or
mirror A mirror, also known as a looking glass, is an object that Reflection (physics), reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror forms an image of whatever is in front of it, which is then focused through the lens of the eye or a camera ...
ed windows, allowing passengers to see out, but preventing fans from peering in. They are well equipped, as the comfort of the passengers is paramount.
DVD player A DVD player is a machine that plays DVDs produced under both the DVD-Video and DVD-Audio technical standards, two different and incompatible standards. Some DVD players will also play audio CDs. DVD players are connected to a television to ...
s, large screen TV, and game systems are now the norm, while some vehicles even have personal DVD players and screens in each bunk. Well-known bands such as
Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...
or U2 may use as many as seven or eight sleeper buses on their tours to accommodate the many road crew members required. However, such bands themselves rarely travel on the bus but usually use air transport or
limousine A limousine ( or ), or limo () for short, is a large, chauffeur-driven luxury vehicle with a partition between the driver compartment and the passenger compartment which can be operated mechanically by hand or by a button electronically. A luxu ...
s or a luxury splitter tour bus, leaving their crew members to travel by bus. Smaller, less well-known bands will usually travel on the bus along with their tech crew. Sleeper coaches have come a long way from the old days, when ex-
National Express Mobico Group, formerly National Express Group, is a British multinational public transport company with headquarters in Birmingham, England. Domestically it currently operates bus and coach services under brands including National Express. Th ...
coaches were retired into sleeper coach use. Now, the leading companies are buying new coaches, which, after fitting out, cost over £350,000 (), though the rates for these coaches are not much more than conventional coaches. Some travel companies use them as mobile hotels, taking tourists to locations where there is no hotel or there are long distances to cover overnight.


Public transport


China

In China, sleeper buses are a common means of long-distance transportation. They are slightly more expensive than trains, but also a little faster, and tickets are more readily available. There have been a number of fatal crashes involving these buses in China. Due to increased safety incidents, sleeper buses were banned from registration starting from 2012.


India

In India, these buses are used for inter city travel and are operated by both government and private bus companies. They are operated between cities which are 6 hours to 10 hours apart by road. The journeys usually start late in the evening or at midnight and are scheduled so that most of the travel is at night. This service is a good alternative to trains, as seats in trains get booked well in advance. These buses are seldom filled beyond capacity. Several State Transport units such as the
Kerala State Road Transport Corporation Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is a state-owned road transport corporation in the Indian state of Kerala. It is one of the country's oldest state-run public bus transport services. The corporation is divided into three zones ( ...
(KSRTC),
Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is a state-owned public road transport corporation company in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is wholly owned by the Government of Karnataka. It serves routes to 31 districts and as wel ...
(KSRTC) and the State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) operate sleeper bus services.


United Kingdom

Sleeper services, open to the general public, are known to have existed in the late 1920s and early 1930s. At least two such services operated, from London to Liverpool (The Albatross Sleeping Car Co.) and London to Manchester/Liverpool, run by a company called Land Liners Ltd. But the vogue passed, until 2011. On 2 August 2011, the
Stagecoach Group Stagecoach Group is a transport group based in Perth, Scotland. It operates buses and express coaches in the United Kingdom. Stagecoach was originally founded in 1976 as ''Gloagtrotter'', a recreational vehicle and minibus hire business. Dur ...
announced it was launching a new Sleeper coach service, open to the general public, using 'bendybuses'. The London to Glasgow service was operated under the Megabus brand and offered overnight travel on a budget. Trial journeys started on 5 September 2011. The service officially started on 21 October 2011. The service was axed on 21 May 2017 with the company stating that while "the service was popular, unfortunately, the overall level of demand dropped".


United States

A San Francisco–Los Angeles sleeper bus began operation in July 2017. Operation was paused in January 2019 due to dissatisfaction with the bumpiness of the ride quality, and was relaunched in September 2019 with improved vehicles. In 2020, due to the
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
pandemic, the company switched from providing scheduled bus service to offering private charters.


See also

* List of buses *
Sleeping car The sleeping car or sleeper (often ) is a railway passenger car (rail), passenger car that can accommodate all passengers in beds of one kind or another, for the purpose of sleeping. George Pullman was the main American innovator and owner of sl ...


References


External links


"Sleeper Motor Coach Has Two Story Berths", January 1933, Popular Mechanics
article and drawing on 1930s era sleeper coaches
Band Bus information websiteUK sleeper bus services in the 1920/30s
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sleeper Bus Buses by type Road crew Land vehicles with sleeping facilities