Talk:bustitution

I don't have time to add these to the entry, but here are some cites: ,, , , ,  Thryduulf 00:11, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

Hi there Wiktionarians, here is a whole bunch of etymological material from the Wikipedia article Train-replacement bus service that was in conflict with Wikipedia's role as an encyclopedia rather than a dictionary.

The word bustitution is a neologism sometimes used to describe the practice of replacing a passenger train service with a bus service either on a temporary or permanent basis. The word is a portmanteau of the words "bus" and "substitution". The train service that is replaced may be of any type such as light rail, tram, streetcar, commuter rail, regional rail or heavy rail intercity passenger service.

Usage
The term "bustitution" had been used to describe the dismantling of the street railway systems of many cities in North America in the mid-20th century. In more recent North American usage, the expression often refers to the temporary substitution of buses for trains such as may be done with Amtrak's Thruway Motorcoach service or similar bus replacement by Via Rail in Canada. When used to refer to the permanent replacement of trains with buses it may connote a somewhat derogatory appraisal of the service change.

The term is used in the United Kingdom to describe the replacement of full-sized train service by buses. In such cases the replacement may be temporary and due to maintenance work or train failure. It is also used to describe the permanent closing of lightly used services and replacement by a bus service. During the Beeching era in the 1960s, bus substitution was an official policy for replacing train services on closed lines. This policy was largely unsuccessful however, as the bus services were usually far slower than the train services they replaced, causing many passengers to give up on public transport altogether.

The term may be used in Australia to refer to permanent or temporary service change.