Friday Fun: Bus Simulator 18 Keeps it Real

A new video game puts you behind the wheel of a busy city bus with places to go, people to serve, and headways to keep.

1 minute read

June 29, 2018, 5:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Mero Los Angeles

Cary Kalscheuer / Shutterstock

Linda Poon shares the news about the video game that puts players behind the wheels of a virtual bus.

"In the same way that SimCity navigates the logistics of running a town—including zoning regulations and limited budgets—Bus Simulator 18 doesn’t shy away from the very real tasks involved in operating a bus," explains Poon.

Maybe the game will attract players to careers in bus driving or transit planning, similar to how SimCity has done for the land use planning and real estate development fields? Time will tell, but the field could use as hot in the arm. In a separate article also published this week, Laura Bliss reports that labor shortages are straining bus service.

Tuesday, June 26, 2018 in CityLab

Lake Powell with much of the water evaporated.

Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River

Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.

October 30, 2026 - Yale Environment 360

A road in north eastern Nebraska with power lines on either side, and grassy fields.

Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity

Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.

November 6, 2026 - Grist

A rendering of a mall turned living space. People walk around a green space surrounded by apartments.

Malls are becoming the midtowns of the future

Mall and office park redevelopments are a generational opportunity to create new nodes of urbanity.

October 29, 2026 - Ben Schneider

A car drives through a puddle in NYC

NYC breaks ground on anti-flooding infrastructure project

New York City's new system will reduce stormwater flows to local sewers by 90%.

November 9 - Smart Cities Dive

Members of the Smoketown CLT gather for a photo

One Kentucky town’s secret to affordable housing

The Smoketown Community Land Trust has already built seven affordable homes for community members.

November 9 - Reasons to Be Cheerful

Two people stand under mesh coverings shaped like petals

Houston gains petal-shaped cooling infrastructure to make streets more ‘delightful’

The city has installed the pavilions along 15 blocks in Houston.

November 9 - De Zeen

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.