What does a bus journey actually look like?
A bus spends a surprising amount of its journey not moving. This measures the speed and the distance, and the bit that makes it a bus page: how many times you stopped and how long you spent standing still.
The Stops counter ticks up each time the bus comes to rest for more than five seconds and then pulls away. Stands, red lights and queues all count, because from a passenger's seat they cost the same thing.
Why is the average so low?
A city bus rarely averages more than 12 to 18 km/h across a route, even though it hits 50 between stops. That's arithmetic, not driving.
Compare Moving with Elapsed and it's usually stark. A third to a half of a busy urban route is spent stationary. Bus lanes and signal priority don't make the bus quicker between stops. They cut the standing time, which is where the journey actually goes.
| Service | Average | Between stops |
|---|---|---|
| City centre bus | 10 to 14 km/h | 30 to 40 km/h |
| Suburban route | 18 to 25 km/h | 50 km/h |
| Bus rapid transit | 25 to 30 km/h | 60 km/h |
| Intercity coach | 70 to 85 km/h | 100 km/h |
How fast can a bus legally go?
Buses are usually limited more tightly than cars, and most have a mechanical limiter as well.
- EU and UK coaches must have a limiter set to 100 km/h. A coach on a motorway that won't pass a lorry is sitting on that limiter, not struggling.
- UK single-deckers over 12 m are capped at 62 mph on motorways. Shorter ones and double-deckers are limited further.
- City buses are often governed well below the road limit. 50 or 60 km/h is common whatever the signs say.
- Local limits vary, and the tap-to-set alerts here cover the common ones.
Getting a signal on a bus
A bus is worse for GPS than a train and much worse than a bike. The roof is metal, newer windows are often coated, and city routes run exactly where signals bounce off buildings.
- Sit by a window. Upstairs on a double-decker, which sees far more sky.
- Watch the accuracy. Above ±50 m the phone is using cell towers, not satellites, and the speed means nothing.
- Expect the reading to wander between tall buildings. That's reflection, not the driver.
- Underground bus stations give you nothing at all.
Checking a timetable against reality
Run this for a whole journey and you get the honest version. Real distance, real time, real time spent stopped. It's the quickest way to find out whether a route is genuinely slower at rush hour or whether it just feels that way.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the average so much lower than the speed I see?
Because average includes every stop. A city bus can hit 40 km/h between stops and still average 12 across the route. Compare Moving with Elapsed to see how much was stationary.
What does the Stops counter count?
Every time the bus comes to rest for more than five seconds and then pulls away. It can't tell a bus stop from a red light, and from a passenger's point of view they cost the same.
Why is the reading jumpy in the city centre?
Signals bounce off tall buildings and arrive late, which reads as speed changes that never happened. Turn up the smoothing and watch the accuracy figure.
How fast can a coach legally go?
In the EU and UK, coaches must have a limiter set to 100 km/h. Road limits may be lower, and city buses are often governed well below them.
It reads nothing at all on my bus.
Metal roofs and coated glass both block satellites. Move to a window seat, and upstairs if there is one. If accuracy stays above ±50 m, the phone isn't on satellites.