“Conductor” vs. “Driver” in American English

I had to google “bus conductor.” I don’t think I’ve ever seen one, having ridden busses in the US, UK, several Western European countries, and NZ. You might want to include some exposition about what a bus conductor is for the story to be accessible to people from areas without them.

The US doesn’t have bus conductors, only bus drivers, who are responsible for the operation and management of the bus. American trains are controlled (“driven,” so to speak) by engineers, but managed by conductors.

I've never seen a conductor on a bus. Is having a bus conductor common where you live?

I think the issue is that there are very few busses with conductors in the U.S. typically, the only employee present is the person driving the bus.

Most Americans don’t use conductor correctly, which is interesting because I don’t think the Brits use it at all in a transportation context. A conductor collects tickets and is effectively the “captain” of the transport. Buses used to have conductors, but fair collecting has been automated for most people’s living memory. If you are writing about a bus, it’s just “driver”, and to the best of my knowledge, it’s the same in the UK. Now if we are talking about trains, in American English, there is one or several conductors, and one engineer. The engineer physically manipulates the controls to drive the train, but they only do so at the conductors direction. The conductor again, check tickets, but also works the doors, assists passengers, keeps schedule and makes other operational decisions. In the UK a train engineer is an “engine driver” or just “driver” and a train conductor is a “guard”.

Driver and conductors are different roles. Busses generally don’t have conductors though, only a driver.

There is such a distinct thing as a bus conductor, though they are rare and only found in different parts of the world. A bus conductor would be responsible for selling tickets and communicating with the driver (operator) to start, stop, whatever. With automated fare systems in a lot of the world, bus conductors are not really needed.

I associate the word "conductor" with only three things; the person who conducts a train, the person who conducts an orchestra, and a material that conducts electricity (or perhaps heat). I use the word in no other circumstances. I have never (until this thread) heard of a "bus conductor". It makes sense as a concept; performing a similar role as a conductor on a train, but it is not a common thing here in the U.S.

Buses haven't really had conductors for a couple of decades. Even on trains they're not used on the short distance trains that most people use, as there are automatic ticket systems in use these days. Conductors and drivers have never had the same role. It is just that the role of a conductor is largely obsolete. You could probably still find them in somewhere like India and Pakistan though.

In Britain, the role of bus conductor has died out (ended around late 1990s). It was not the driver. The driver sat in a cab that was a separate compartment to the passenger one. The conductor’s role was to be in the passenger compartment, take the fares and issue tickets, assist passengers if they needed help to get on and off, and to ding a bell when everyone had got on/off to tell the driver to move off. Trains have drivers (who sit in their own compartment at the front) and a guard who moves through the train, checking tickets and assisting passengers (and some trains have a guards wagon/compartment, for bicycles and cargo)

Stop trying to make **bus conductor** happen.

Bus driver. We'd never say bus conductor in the USA. When talking about transportation, conductors are on trains. There is a history to that. Mostly, it's because buses used to have conductors, which was a person that collected money, helped passengers, managing baggage, and generally manages the operation of that train. But busses don't work like that in the USA anymore. Trains do, though. In fact, the conductor of the train is not the person "diving" the train. The engineer does that. The conductor helps organize the crew and helps manage passengers. Trains are the only common kind of transportation I can think of that still have conductors in the USA. Busses only have drivers. Planes have flight attendants, but they aren't in charge of plane operation (and neither are pilots). I think cable cars in San Francisco have conductors, but that's not a common form of transportation. It's a very specific job that just doesn't exist much anymore.

They are definitely not interchangeable. People associate the role of a conductor with trains only, though. Probably none of your readers have heard of a conductor role existing on bus. Neither have I or many of the commenters here. It seems like it may have been more common in other countries a few decades ago.

Its a job that basically doesn't exist in the US. What country are you from that still has them?

I’ve never heard of a bus conductor before. I’m American and have also lived in the UK and NZ. On a city bus, such as one would use for commuting, the only employee is the bus driver. They drive the bus. I wouldn’t say “collect fares” since the vast majority of riders on any system in 2025 I’d assume scan a transit card or an app to pay. On bus tour packages (in all three places) there may be somebody pointing out the sights. They would not be called a bus conductor, but a tour guide. I had this job in DC and Philly and have been on a number of similar excursions around the world.

If this piece of fiction takes place in a contemporary, English-speaking setting then the presence of a bus conductor is anachronistic and you might need to change the premise to be believable to readers. If it either takes place in the past or takes place in the present somewhere you know still has bus conductors, then you will need to include some sort of explanation/context of what this character does so the English-speaking reader isn’t confused. 

The only time I've ever heard someone talk about a conductor is when talking about trains

Trains have conductors. If a vehicle has a conductor, I assume the vehicle is a train (or a monorail - which is like a train). Bus conductor? I've never heard of such a thing. It may exist, but it's not something I think of when I head "conductor."

Conductor is used practically exclusively relating to trains

Conductor cannot deviate from the tracks. A trolley on rails is a conductor-driven vehicle. A bus is not typically a conductor, it’s a driver, because the driver freely controls where the vehicle goes. A conductor just controls speed.

Conductors in American English are pretty much only used for train drivers (and even then, conductor is a bit old-schooly). A bus driver is always called a bus driver

A conductor is a person (on a train or sometimes a bus) that takes fares and assists passengers. The conductor does not operate the train. A driver is someone who operates a motor vehicle. The person who operates a train is called the engineer.

I've never heard of a bus conductor before. I don't even know what that would even be. How's that different from the driver.

I remember taking buses in China pre-1990 and there was an additional person stationed at each doors and deals with tickets and other stuff. People also boarded the buses from all doors and paid the ticket person for the ride. The driver did just that, drive. Never thought of it until now.

As an American, if you mentioned "conductor" I would think they were operating a train. Just a shot in the dark, if your first language happens to be Spanish you may have had a "false friend" moment here (for those who don't know "driver" in spanish is "conductor"), in modern American English these are two separate terms. Hope this helps!

Conductor? We don’t use that word. Bus driver. Uber driver. The *only* time we use “conductor” is with trains, and even then I’ve more often heard “train operator”.

I've only ever heard bus driver. Conductor is specifically train drivers for me. For lighter rail, like subways and trams I'd probably say operator. Maybe they're different roles, but idt most people know that judging on how I see them used. I certainly don't know.

Every bus I’ve ridden on in the US only has a driver, and you pay when you get on the bus (usually by tapping a transit card, but there’s always a machine that takes cash/coins as well). Most metro systems I’ve ridden on also have fare enforcement, which are *different* employees who will randomly board buses and trains to check if everyone has paid. But fare enforcement is pretty rare, I think I’ve only seen them twice (having ridden on Seattle buses & trains, San Francisco Muni, the BART, the LA metro, the OC bus, and the subway in NYC)

Maybe it exists somewhere, but in the U.S. I’ve never seen a bus conductor. On local buses the driver takes money or tickets from passengers as they enter, and on cross-country buses there might be a ticket agent outside the bus, but they won’t let anyone on without a ticket, so there is no need for a separate conductor role.

They are different jobs. A bus conductor has become obsolete as a job.

Some places call a bus driver a bus conductor, some have them as separate roles. USA typically only has drivers and calls them drivers, no separate person usually on the bus to take fares. Potentially on long haul buses, like Greyhound, but I’m not really sure.

Busses don't have conductors, they have drivers in Amercian English. Conductor in this context would only be for trains.

Since the only staff on a bus in the driver, _and conductor means driver in Spanish_, I would assume you were referring to the driver _and_ that Spanish is your first language

In the US, the term conductor (in the context of transportation) is specific to trains (and a century ago, "streetcars") and refers to an individual that would check tickets or collect fares. The conductor was a distinct job from the train operator or engineer, and the conductor wouldn't necessarily ride on the train. Americans don't have conductors for buses. The typical configuration is simply a device that collects fares at the door. It used to be that a bus driver would make change for you, but even then we didn't call the driver a conductor. The bus has a driver, but no conductor. It is appropriate for you to have a bus conductor in a place where they exist, but you should include some expository description of the character and their job to set the scene so that readers that have not heard of a bus conductor can understand what you mean.

There are no conductors on American busses. Your American readers are confused because this job does not exist in our culture. 

The US doesn’t have bus conductors. There’s just the bus driver up front and that’s it. Before this post I never even considered the possibility of a bus having a conductor. Only trains have conductors in the US.

When I think of a conductor I think about someone who leads an orchestra. Then I think of an electrical component. Then I might think of someone who operates a train, but never someone who works on a bus

What is a bus conductor if not the driver? Are you referring to the person that walks down the aisle and collects payment after people have gotten on the bus? Because buses simply do not have that in North America. Fares are put into a little box at the front by the driver. So I'm not surprised that people were confused about a "bus conductor" and assumed that you had meant either a bus driver or a train conductor.

WTF is a bus conductor?

I'm in my 40s and have never been on a bus with a conductor. I understand the term, and if you explicitly said it was a bus, with a bus conductor, I would get it, but if you don't make it clear, if there's a conductor, I'll probably assume it's a train. Even if it's clear it's a bus, I'm probably going to be a bit confused why - unless your story is set pre-WW2 or something.

Conductor is only used for trains here. Driver for all other road vehicles. Pilot for anything flown. Captain or helmsman for sea vessels.

My grandfather was a bus driver in Atlanta just after World War 2. Neither he nor his kids born in the 40s and 50s ever said he was a bus conductor. I've only ever heard that used for trains or the guy who directs an orchestra. (Or minerals that conduct electricity.) Wait. Do you mean a guy who isn't driving but roams the bus checking tickets? I've never seen that on a bus either.

The issue is that most speakers - online, that is - have never interacted with a bus conductor, before, so they assume you refer to a conductor as understood in modernity -- someone who directs a train, or something like that.

A bus conductor collects the fare, issues tickets, and helps passengers get on and off. It's a separate role. It is not very common at all. It was more common fifty years ago. Since the 1970s, most bus drivers have collected fares and issued tickets. There are always exceptions, of course. I don't think that the words have become synonymous. Instead, I think that "bus conductor" has simply fallen into disuse. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bus_conductor Conductors are still *somewhat* common on trains, so if you say "conductor" people may assume you're talking about a train. *However,* even on trains, that role is often a ticket *inspector* rather than a conductor. An inspector *inspects* - checks - tickets, but often can also sell them. There are still ticket *inspectors* on some buses; often performing random checks, often moving between different buses. There are very few routes that still have a *conductor* - who would normally remain on the same bus throught its journey.

In British English, bus conductors were people who walked around buses selling tickets in the days before passengers paid the driver while boarding the bus. I don't know when the UK stopped using bus conductors, but in Ireland, where I live, they were phased out in the late '80s and early '90s.

If you think they are different roles, then please explain their duties to us. I am Canadian, and there is usually ever only one employee on a bus, the driver. A train could have many employees, depending on the type of train, and therefore may have a conductor and a driver and maybe an engineer (although most wouldn't know the difference and would use the terms interchangeably even if they have different duties). The only bus I've been on in North America (or Europe for that matter), that had more than one employee was a TOUR bus, which would have a driver and a tour guide (who organises the guests/riders and sometimes tells the passengers over the speakers about the sites they are going past). What exactly is a bus conductor? Is it the tour guide?

Where and when is this story set? I've never been on a bus with a conductor, and I'm not that all that young. I had to look up "bus conductor" to learn that this indeed used to be a role distinct from the driver, and still is in some places. Not knowing this, if I had been reading your story I definitely would have assumed that "bus conductor" was a regional way of saying "bus driver", then been confused when the conductor was standing up. But I suppose I would have figured it out. If the story is set in a time and place when bus conductors are commonplace, then you're certainly not wrong for using the term, and it's up to you whether you want to reword things to avoid confusion. But if your story was set in, say, present-day New York, I would change it, not because the word is wrong, but because those busses wouldn't have conductors.

Yeah, as far as I knew, until this post, the conductor was the name of the person who drove the train. I feel like if you asked me if the ticket-taker on a train was the conductor, I would say yes, but also, maybe somewhat paradoxically, see the person driving the train as the "train conductor". In fact, there's a really, really, long joke I always tell about a "train conductor". [Here's a link.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/4khrw8/there_was_a_man_in_bulgaria_who_drove_a_train_for/) The joke only makes sense if the person driving the train is the conductor. They even refer to him driving the train multiple times. I think it's because, first, buses in the US don't have conductors anymore. Or at least, any payment is done with the driver or an automated machine at the front of the bus. Second, because, on a train, you only ever interact with the conductor, and you never see the driver, the conductor is seen as the "head" of the train. Over time, I'm guessing that merged with the idea of the driver, so conductor became the driver of a train while buses are still driven by drivers.

When I hear the word “conductor,” first I think of the person directing an orchestra, next I think of something that carries electricity, and finally I think of a person who manages things on a train. I don’t associate conducting with driving in the way it would be associated in, say, French or Spanish (conduire, conducir). The person who conducts a bus is a the bus driver.

In 1993, I went on a Hollywood Houses of the Stars tour bus that had a tour guide separate from the driver. That is the only time I have ever seen more than 1 bus company employee on a bus, and I have ridden many.

I wouldn't say that they are interchangeable at all. Quite the contrary, driver and conductor have very different and distinct definitions. The problem is that almost no one alive today in the North America (at least not the English speaking parts of it) has ever seen a conductor on a bus. They are even becoming a bit of a rarity on trains. There are a few buses (primarily privately run by tour companies) with an employee who might be considered a conductor, but that is secondary to their primary role as a tour guide. These aren't typically seen as a form of transit though, it's a way for tourists to get historical background on the neighborhoods they are going through while going from point A to point B and exclusively serve tourist destinations (and charge quite the premium). Even for trains, the only times I've seen conductors on trains has been when I've taken Amtrak... Okay, so I've also seen the tour guide conductors on some historical railroads that operate as a mobile museum piece. Most trains in the United States have replaced conductors with automated ticket machines and fare gates (or in some cases an enforced honor system, you don't need to go through a fare gate, but police will do random ticket inspections and issue severe fines to people caught riding without a ticket). If you are writing something that is set in a time period when conductors were still common, I believe you are going to have to very explicitly spell out what it is that this person does. If you want to avoid heavy exposition, perhaps structure the story such that we see him at his job, doing his job, before you establish what his job title is. It would be very clunky if he were to tell us he is a conductor and then has to explain it (because presumably, whoever he is having this conversation with would already know what a conductor is if it is in a time period when they were still common).

I've only ever heard of a train conductor or the conductor of an orchestra. Never heard of that word being used in any other context; buses have drivers.

A train has an operator or engineer, and a conductor. The two are separate roles. A bus only has the operator (driver) who fills both roles. Edit: that's now, if it was different in the story or on the past, maybe the driver and conductor can have a conversation or one can announce the other to the passengers, either way the facts can be made straight for the reader.

It is a distinct role, a bus conductor is not the same as the bus driver, just like a train conductor is not an engine driver. There just aren't really a lot of bus conductors around anymore so people are unfamiliar with conductors in settings other than trains.

In American English, there is no such thing as a "bus conductor." I have no clue what that would be. I would assume it was someone who was in charge of a flash mob orchestra on public transportation.

Ive been American my whole life and today I learned that buses used to have conductors. If they still had them, maybe people would have better conduct on the bus!

There are usually no bus conductors in the US. So Americans are only used to conductors on trains. I know that bus conductors exist in other countries that go around and check tickets and whatnot. If you are using a bus conductor as not the driver, then that's fine. Just realized if your story is set in the US, this position generally does not exist

To answer the question OP asked, conductor and driver have never been interchangeable, and American busses rarely of ever had conductors, though we have them on trains.

The only contexts i know of conductors in are trains, orchestras and electronics

Conductors don’t drive. They conduct the passengers onto usually a train and check tickets.

Australian living in UK: I understood immediately what you meant. They are two roles. A train conductor is not a train driver. If you're getting this feedback though it suggests your audience are going to have the same problem, so you might want to add a bit of explanation about why you've got a bus conductor in-universe at all. You do see them in London, for example, but rarely - usually either a nostalgia thing (for tourists) or buses with ticket machines are all being used elsewhere.

I drove buses that had conductors a few years ago in college, and they were an entirely different job- they were on our double deck buses managing passengers and counting people. It's definitely not common, and I'd bet you the only people who knew our conductors were called that were the conductors and the bus drivers. It was (mostly) a gimmick, they were only required to be on our vintage double decks from the 60's that had the driver in a separate compartment. Modern buses, nope. American buses, at least, have the driver handling fares so there's no need for a second person. So to answer your question, no they aren't interchangeable, we're talking about 4 different jobs (train driver (has become conductor) (who drives the train), train conductor (who collects tickets), bus driver (who drives and collects tickets), and bus conductor (collects tickets and is largely an extinct job). So if you just use conductor, people will assume train, as the bus version of conductors no longer exist. Do true bus conductors still exist outside of the US? I'm really curious how a story centers around a job like bus conductor.

It's because conductors don't exist on busses anymore. Fare collection is done at the front next to the driver. Many trains (especially commuter trains) still have conductors to open and close doors and make sure the platforms are clear when train is pulling into or out of the station.

Female bus conductors used to be called chippies in England.

No, current day a conductor does not drive. Traditionally a conductor sells and checks tickets on the train. The engineer is the driver on a train. On the bus, you have a bus driver who also sells tickets and checks fares.

Conductors conduct trains Drivers drive cars

Trains are driven by conductors, busses are driven by drivers. What is the person you are calling a conductor doing on the bus? The only time I've been on a bus where there was someone standing at the front of the bus, they were a tour guide