But it’s not all about getting to work or going to the shops. Buses are also important for tourists; and when it comes to election time, visiting politicians often arrive by battle bus .
This selection of old photos taken from the Evening News archive give a glimpse of life on the buses three decades ago.
There’s a vintage bus from the museum, a model bus built for charity, some old shots of the bus station and one or two crashes as well.
Scroll through and get a feel for some of the ways buses featured in the Capital’s life in the 1990s.
1. Vintage bus museum piece
A Leyland Tiger single-decker vintage bus from the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum in July 1992. The museum, established in 1986, was based in Whitburn, West Lothian, before moving to its current location at Lathalmond, near Dunfermline, in 1995. | TSPL Photo: Denis Straughan
2. St Andrew Square bus station
SMT buses at St Andrew Square bus station, Edinburgh, September 1992. | TSPL Photo: Alistair Linford
3. Bus garage art gallery
The Eastern Scottish bus garage in New Street was one of several options proposed as the site for a new National Gallery of Scottish Art in February 1992. | TSPL Photo: Jack Crombie
4. Spitting Image puppets on tour
Spitting Image puppets of John Major, President Mitterand and Chancellor Kohl, take a bus-top tour of Edinburgh in December 1992 to coincide with the city hosting a European summit. | TSPL Photo: Adam Elder