# Why are municipal buses sprung so harshly? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 7, 2010, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-municipal-buses-sprung-so-harshly/559779 "2010-11-07T08:36:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-municipal-buses-sprung-so-harshly/559779/1 "2010-11-07T08:36:32Z")
Ride in a Greyhound or a tour bus, and you get a very smooth ride. Ride in a city bus, and every bump and undulation goes jarring through your body. These vehicles are the same size, carry a similar payload, so what gives? ---
**Author:** ![Hero\_From\_Sector\_7G](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@Hero\_From\_Sector\_7G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hero_From_Sector_7G)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-municipal-buses-sprung-so-harshly/559779/2 "2010-11-07T08:45:43Z")
I’d guess there isn’t a difference in spring tension. Highways typically have far less bumps and certainly have less stop/go traffic. Further, the seats on a greyhound are softer than your typical bus. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-municipal-buses-sprung-so-harshly/559779/3 "2010-11-07T09:24:58Z")
IIRC I think Greyhound buses are considerably larger than most city buses. ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-municipal-buses-sprung-so-harshly/559779/4 "2010-11-07T09:58:37Z")
I don’t think it’s either one of those answers. Greyhounds have a very plush ride, whereas city buses jar your bones over the slightest imperfections. And they are about the same size. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-municipal-buses-sprung-so-harshly/559779/5 "2010-11-07T10:24:29Z")
Just a WAG here, but maybe Greyhound puts a lot more money into their buses than your typical city transit authority? This could simply be the result of either better maintenance or higher quality vehicles/equipment. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-municipal-buses-sprung-so-harshly/559779/6 "2010-11-07T13:03:48Z")
Here’s a quick summary of [bus suspension issues](http://busforsaleguide.com/bus-suspension.htm). Most intercity buses use some variant of independent suspension with gas-filled bags (“air-ride”) as suspension dampers, while city buses tend to use simpler leaf-or-coil spring suspensions, on solid axles, for reasons of cost and serviceability. I have to admit, seeing how interior components literally get shaken to pieces on older city buses, I’ve often wondered myself why the purchasing authorities don’t go for something a little more sophisticated, but apparently independent air-ride systems’ maintenance costs are too high to consider for this application. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-municipal-buses-sprung-so-harshly/559779/7 "2010-11-07T13:50:15Z")
> [@](#): > > Most intercity buses use some variant of independent suspension with gas-filled bags (“air-ride”) as suspension dampers, while city buses tend to use simpler leaf-or-coil spring suspensions, on solid axles, for reasons of cost and serviceability. and solid-spring vehicles need to be able to carry the maximum passenger load w/o bottoming, so if a city bus has solid springs and a light load, it’s going to be rough. ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-municipal-buses-sprung-so-harshly/559779/8 "2010-11-07T15:21:29Z")
It essentially comes down to the issue of cost vs. the operating company’s give-a-shit level for your butthurt. Greyhound needs to get people to want to ride their bus for hundreds of miles. People won’t do that if they have to get ass-pounded for hours. Municipal operators only need you to be willing to take an ass-jarring for a couple of miles, because you have to get to your appointment across town, and, hey, it beats walking. ---
**Author:** ![Redpill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/58956e/32.png) [@Redpill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Redpill)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-municipal-buses-sprung-so-harshly/559779/9 "2010-11-07T16:17:50Z")
> [@Cheshire\_Human](#): > > It essentially comes down to the issue of cost vs. the operating company’s give-a-shit level for your butthurt. Greyhound needs to get people to want to ride their bus for hundreds of miles. People won’t do that if they have to get ass-pounded for hours. Municipal operators only need you to be willing to take an ass-jarring for a couple of miles, because you have to get to your appointment across town, and, hey, it beats walking. This ^ (Ass-tute insight)