The word bus is short for omnibus, which means “for everyone.” Bus was first used in this sense in the 1830s, its everyone meaning referencing the fact that anyone could join the coach along its route, unlike with stagecoaches, which had to be pre-booked.

The "real" or original word for a bus is omnibus, which is a Latin term meaning "for all" (the dative plural of omnis). The name originated in France in the late 1820s when a businessman named Stanislas Baudry launched a horse-drawn carriage service in Nantes. Legend says he chose the name after seeing a hatter's shop named "Omnes Omnibus," a pun on the owner's name, Omnès. The English language eventually clipped the word to just "bus" in the mid-19th century as the mode of transport became more common. Interestingly, "omnibus" is still used in other contexts today, such as in "omnibus legislation" (a bill that covers diverse topics for everyone) or a "television omnibus" (a collection of episodes). In its transportation sense, it signified a revolutionary shift in urban mobility, moving away from private coaches to a service open to the general public regardless of social status or prior booking.