The American bus renewal

Motor coaches are the fastest growing form of long distance transport in the United States, and British-owned companies are leads the charge.

It seems to sum up the average American traveler’s view of buses as the transport choice of last resort - slow, uncomfortable and out-of-date.

City buses were taken into public ownership in the 1960s but although they are subsidized by the state, they have been starved of cash in recent years.

Some cities have set-up devoted bus ways, rebranding them as "trains with rubber wheels".

But all of the new government money has gone on rapid transportation schemes, seen by politicians and planners as the only way to tempt motorists out of their cars. Federal spending on light rail raised from $494m (£314.24) in 1992 to $3.7bn (£2.35bn) in 2008.

Transit ridership and public transport in common, is growing faster than car mileage, which appeared to have peaked in the US, according to American Public Transport Association figures.

But critics say some systems are almost deserted outside of the rush hour and are not as cost-effective as buses.