The best bus simulators of 2026 include Bus Bound and The Bus

So you want to be a virtual bus driver, eh? Well, kid, this job ain't for the weak. Your Mario Kart experience won't help you here, because now you're behind the wheel of a real vehicle. There are road rules to obey, passengers to pick up, a strict timetable to adhere to… this is one of the toughest jobs in the world. Do you have what it takes, chump?

If there were a gruff, bearded bloke in charge of vetting players before they decide to tackle not one, but two bus simulators simultaneously, that's what I imagine he'd say. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your perspective), there isn't, so I downloaded both The Bus and Bus Bound, while staring longingly at the Bus Simulator 27 Steam page, and away I went.

Image: TML-Studios/Aerosoft via Polygon

First things first: it's a great year to drive a bus, at least from the comfort of your own home. (I cannot speak on the bus driving economy in real life, I'm afraid.) The Bus, developed by TML-Studios and published by Aerosoft, the studio responsible for niche simulation games like Fernbus Coach Simulator and Forklift Simulator, saw its full release in March, after five years in early access.

Stillalive Studios’s Bus Bound, was released back in April. The studio had previously released Bus Simulator 16, 18, and 21, but Bus Simulator 27 — slated for release later this year — comes from Simteract, who have both previously worked on Train Life and Taxi Life. Essentially, there's some serious simulation pedigree behind all three games.

But which is worth your time? I've spent more time than any one person should ferrying passengers all over a fantastic Berlin recreation in The Bus, and periodically swapping the German streets for the fictional American city of Emberville in Bus Bound, to compare the two, not to mention factoring in what we know so far about Bus Simulator 27.

Image: Stillalive Studios/Saber Interactive via Polygon

Both games let you live out your wildest bus driving dreams, but Bus Bound is much more arcade-like than The Bus. Emberville is a city where all bus travel is free (or every passenger has a bus pass, I guess), which means you don't need to deal with fares or tickets. Rather than earning cold hard cash, you're simply given an approval rating from each passenger.

The more thumbs-ups you earn, which depends on how many passengers board and alight your majestic steed at each stop, the more stops and route options you unlock. Impress the passengers with your driving — stopping at stop signs, navigating around obstacles, and slowing down for speed bumps — to increase your approval multiplier. Eventually, when you've earned enough approval in a district, the town will transform, with new landmarks, more passengers, and additional roads to drive down.

The Bus is much more of a typical simulation. In "Economy" mode, essentially the only mode with progression, you start with some cash, a tiny depot, and a dream. Once you buy your first vehicle, you can accept individual jobs, with a goal of building the reputation of your transit company. You’ll also need to earn as much as possible, because eventually, you'll be the CEO of your own bus empire.

Image: TML-Studios/Aerosoft via Polygon

Buses feel considerably weightier in The Bus compared to Bus Bound, which means you really need to pay attention to the road and your surroundings. Bus lanes are narrow, which means clipping a parked car and damaging your vehicle is an easy mistake to make. That then requires repairs, which eat into your budget.

Despite its focus on realism, The Bus feels half-baked in other areas. It assumes the player is familiar with this style of simulator game already, which means the tutorial is lacking. While The Bus has more depth than Bus Bound, there are a lot of menu options that could — and should — be more user-friendly. On Windows PC, it also suffers from performance issues such as stutters and crashes, especially in rainy weather.

One area where both games struggle is in making their cities feel alive. Bus Bound does a slightly better job, thanks to how the city evolves over time. But even though the Steam page promises "a city full of life," there's still little to see outside your bus. Events that are supposed to be dynamic — you ought to be able to move a dump truck that has rolled into the road by honking your horn, but it doesn’t work outside the tutorial — remain in the same place for multiple days.

Image: Stillalive Studios/Saber Interactive via Polygon

However, Bus Bound does excel when it comes to traffic AI. Driving simulator games are notorious for rendering turn indicators useless, because other vehicles on the road seem to ignore them. That isn't the case here; if you indicate that you're leaving a bus stop, other vehicles will wait until you're on your way again. In hairy situations, such as traffic-filled junctions, they adapt and react to changes on the road impressively quickly.

In both games, NPCs leave a lot to be desired, which is one of the biggest contributors to the lack of life in these worlds. In The Bus, I've seen passengers board, then perform 360-degree spins before taking their seat. I've seen them standing, quite literally, on top of my bus's roof. I've seen them walking down the street in the rain with their hands out, as if they're holding an invisible umbrella.

In Bus Bound, NPCs will often fade out of existence as soon as they alight your bus. They'll walk down the street, then spin on the spot and turn in the other direction. (To their credit, maybe they're just lost.) They clip through other NPCs constantly. On the plus side, you'll also get verbal feedback from them on your driving every now and then, which is a nice touch.

How does this stack up with what we know about Bus Simulator 27? Much like Bus Bound, it's opting for a fictional location: Felicia Bay, a "sunny region in southern Europe inspired by Spain and Portugal," according to the Steam page. This means there are two cities to explore — Alcaztelar and Mequina — there appears to be a bigger focus on rural areas compared to the two bus sims that are already out.

You can drive coaches for a little variety, and if you're tired of being behind the wheel, you can also play as an inspector or take a ride as a passenger. On-foot exploration is encouraged in Bus Simulator 27 too, as you can find "stunning points of interest and hidden collectibles." If real buses are your special interest, this also looks like the best option, with officially licensed vehicles from 13 manufacturers including Mercedes-Benz, Iveco, and Volvo.

The lesson here is that the perfect bus driving game doesn't exist. At least, not yet. Bus Bound has a lot to love, and it's certainly the most charming and personable of the year's releases so far, but it isn't the optimal choice for anyone who wants something somewhat replicable to real life. You can't explore all of Emberville until you've gradually unlocked the full city, and because things like tickets aren't factored in, and the routine of pulling into a stop, opening the doors, then following the superimposed route on the road to the next stop, until the route is finished, becomes a little monotonous.

Image: TML-Studios/Aerosoft via Polygon

The Bus offers players more to think about: more buttons to press from behind the wheel, a vast array of route lengths to choose from, and an entire company to run, with additional vehicles to purchase and drivers to recruit over time. But it's rougher around the edges. What’s more, the PlayStation 5 version of The Bus is borderline unplayable due to poor performance, an incompatible control scheme, and next to no traffic elsewhere.

Bus Simulator 27 looks promising, but it's a tough call until we go hands-on and drive a few routes. Both of the existing options make a compelling argument for their own riff on the formula. And hey, if they don't quite tickle your fancy, you could always go back to 2013's OMSI 2, which is still considered by fans of the subgenre to be the best for realism, albeit a little more rudimentary.

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