omnibus

Large motor vehicle designed to carry passengers usually along a fixed route according to a schedule. The first gasoline-powered bus was built in Germany in 1895 and carried eight passengers. The first integral-frame bus was constructed in the early 1920s in the U.S. In the 1930s diesel engines were introduced, providing greater power and fuel efficiency to larger buses. With the development of highway systems, transcontinental bus lines became common in North America. Double-decked buses are used in some European cities; articulated buses pull trailers with flexible joints. Trolley buses, whose electric motors draw power from overhead wires, are now used mostly in European cities.

Learn more about bus with a free trial on Britannica.com.

In transportation:

• Bus, a road vehicle for transporting numerous people
• London General Omnibus Company, principal bus operator in London from 1855 to 1933
• Williams Omnibus Bus Line, first mass transportation system in Toronto, Canada
• Hedingham Omnibuses, original company name of Hedingham and District Omnibuses in Essex
• London Omnibus Traction Society, for bus enthusiasts in the U.K.
• Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Trust operaters of a transport museum near Birmingham, England

In literature:

• An anthology of previously released material linked together by theme or author, especially in book form
• Marvel Omnibus, a specific series of comic book compilations released by Marvel Comics
• Part of the title of several books, including:
• The Celestial Omnibus and Other Stories, by E.M. Forster
• The Cronin Omnibus, a volume containing three novels by A.J. Cronin
• The Robert Heinlein Omnibus, science fiction stories by Robert A. Heinlein
• The Solar Pons Omnibus, a collection of detective stories by August Derleth
• Omnibus Press, a British book publisher

In law:

• Omnibus bill, legislation accepted in a single vote which contains many laws or amendments
• Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, U.S. legislation establishing the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration
• Omnibus Foreign Trade and Competitiveness Act, originally passed by the U.S. Congress in 1988
• Omnibus spending bill, legislation that sets the budget of many departments of the U.S. Government at once
• Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, also known as COBRA
• Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, signed by President George H.W. Bush
• Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, also known as the Deficit Reduction Act
• Omnibus hearing, a legal pre-trial hearing
• Omnibus law, a Serbian law regulating the autonomous status of Vojvodina

In other entertainment:

• Omnibus (broadcast), a compilation of daily television episodes
• Omnibus (TV series), a BBC television programme (1967-2002)
• Omnibus (US TV series), an educational program hosted by Alistair Cooke (1952-1961)
• "Ninja Omnibus", an episode of the comedy video series Ask a Ninja
• "Omnibus", a song from Nonsuch (album), by the New Wave band XTC
• Omnibus (album), by the band Tarkio
• Omnibus Promotion, a Japanese audio and sound effects production company
• Omnibus Wind Ensemble, Swedish musical group
• Homnibus, a character in the comic and cartoon The Smurfs
• A character from the Incredible Hulk comic books, an associate of the villain The Leader
• Omnibus (film), a 1992 short French film

Other:

• Omnibus (survey), in which data on a wide variety of subjects is collected during the same interview
• Omnibus clause, which extends coverage in an insurance contract
• Omnibus progression, musical term for a specific sequence of chords
• Omnibus test, for statistical research
• Unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno, Latin, traditional motto of Switzerland
• The I/O bus used on certain PDP-8 computers manufactured by Digital Equipment Corporation

See also

• Omnia (disambiguation)
• Omni (disambiguation)