Why are sleeper buses so rare in some parts of the world, yet common in others?
Although night trains frequently have sleeper services, until recently, I had never come across sleeper buses. The man in seat61 reports their existence in Laos, and apparently they are used in N-America and Europe to transport bands. It seems Megabus UK has a service between London and Glasgow. According to this question, those are pretty much unique in Europe.
Why are sleeper buses so rare in Europe and North America? They are reportedly quite common in Latin America and parts of Asia.
Best Answer
You'll find few people claiming that buses are more comfortable than trains, all things being equal.
A train network is much more expensive to initiate than a bus network, which works on a road network built, not for the purposes of transferring people or goods by bus, therefore is much more likely to exist, anyway.
Ergo, as mass long distance leisure travel is more recent than train travel, it follows that sleeper buses are more likely to exist in areas where long distance travel is typical yet where trains do not exist.
Latin America has virtually no train connections, while large cities are few and far between. Parts of SE Asia have no train connections with some distances being sizeable. Europe is relatively small and has both good train and cheap air links. (Africa, generalising, has no good long distance public transport of any kind).
My knowledge, in relation to this, of North America is limited. As per @gerrit's comment's below, it is possible that, if relevant laws allow, there is room for a competitor to offer night bus sleepers in North America.
Pictures about "Why are sleeper buses so rare in some parts of the world, yet common in others?"
Are there sleeper buses in USA?
New bus lines operating luxury or lie-flat sleeper buses offer accommodations and services far beyond what Amtrak, airlines, or other bus lines can. A new service called Cabin is offering lie-flat sleeper buses overnight between Los Angeles and San Francisco.Are there sleeper buses in Europe?
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 facilities, comfortable lounges and bunk beds to allow the passengers to eat, relax and sleep during the journey to the next gig or concert.Are there any sleeper buses in the UK?
The MegabusGold \u201csleepercoach\u201d runs overnight between Scotland and London, with leather seats for day use which convert into fully-flat beds. It was launched in 2013, with overnight services year-round from Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Perth to Victoria Coach Station in London.Who invented sleeper bus?
History reads that the first sleeper bus was a prestigious project for MSRTC then. In the early 1960s, the state transporter sent a staff named Kannappa to West Germany to study sleeper bus body building. Kannappa returned and built the state's first sleeper bus for inauguration in 1966 by joining two buses.$6 Sleeper Bus in Vietnam - From Can Tho to Ho Chi Minh
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