An armoured bus or armored bus is a type of bus which provides increased protection for passengers, usually against small arms and improvised explosive devices . The bus can be a stock commercial bus with retro-fitted vehicle armour as well as bulletproof glass , or a specially built military armoured vehicle . Lighter armoured buses are also used for prisoner transport .
5-458: The Rhino Runner is a type of armored bus used extensively in Iraq , especially on the infamous Route Irish between Baghdad International Airport and The Green Zone . It is a customized vehicle created by Labock Technologies , which was purchased in 2008 by another company called Advanced Blast Protection. In 2010 Advanced Blast Protection was purchased by Armour Group, Inc. The Rhino Runner®
10-678: Is made in various sizes with different purposes. Duties include normal transport of civilian contractors and military personnel, and usage by VIPs, including transport of prisoners involved in the Iraqi Special Tribunal . The Rhino Runner is mostly used for transportation of civilians and the press between the Baghdad International Airport and the Green Zone. It is also used to transport soldiers from one base to another. VIPs have been known to use
15-525: The West Bank use bulletproof buses. Armored buses were considered the safest form of civilian transport on routes to and from the Israeli settlements , although questions have been raised about how effective such buses are. It was estimated the number of fatalities would be lower in the event of attacks on armored vehicles, but this has not always been the case. Some Israeli school buses are armored due to
20-867: The Rhinos, including U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and General Richard Myers . An unpublicized usage of the buses is to transport VIP prisoners, such as the now-deceased Saddam Hussein , between their confinements and the tribunal. Armored bus One of the first armored vehicles to be used in combat was the Schneider-Brillié which was built from the chassis of a Schneider P2-4000 bus During World War I, civilian buses were pressed into service, especially by Great Britain and France, fulfilling several roles: to transport troops, supplies, and livestock, and as ambulances and mobile surgeries. Britain used several hundred Daimler and LGOC B-type buses as troop transports, but they were not armoured. It
25-469: Was found that the windows were frequently broken by troops' equipment, and the glass was eventually removed. Wooden planks were fixed over the apertures, offering protection from the weather but not from hostile fire. Armoured buses weigh considerably more than ordinary buses. As a result, they use more fuel, are prone to mechanical breakdowns, have very high maintenance costs and wear out faster. Israel's Egged bus company says that all its bus lines in
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