How much a bus weighs and how many seats it has: EU limits and makers' figures

A bus has no single weight. What the laws and makers’ documents below give is the weight when fully laden. In the European Union, Annex I of Council Directive 96/53/EC allows a two-axle bus 19.5 tonnes in international traffic, a three-axle motor vehicle 25 or 26 tonnes and a three-axle articulated bus 28 tonnes. Makers’ documents for the 40 bus and coach ranges in the table below give gross weights from 5,000 kg (the Karsan e-JEST, a 5.8 m minibus) to 34,000 kg (the Otokar Kent XL, 21 m long on four axles); two-axle buses near 12 m are given 18,000 to 20,000 kg. Seat counts run from 9 fixed seats on the e-JEST to 83 in standard seating on the double-deck Setra S 531 DT and up to 91 in an interurban layout of the Neoplan Skyliner, and totals with standing passengers reach 169 on the BMC Procity 18 m and 220 on the Kent XL. US school bus makers publish ratings of up to 33,000 to 35,000 pounds for Type C and up to 36,200 to 37,600 pounds for Type D. None of these documents prints a figure for the empty bus.

Status as of 5 November 2026. Read on 4 and 5 November: Directive 96/53/EC in its consolidated text of 14 August 2019, the latest the EU Publications Office lists on 5 November, and UN Regulation No. 107 in the Official Journal text of 29 January 2026. School bus figures are those of the makers’ pages and sheets read on 28 October 2026. Figures for the 40 ranges are those of the model pages linked in the table, each of which cites the maker’s documents.

The EU weight limits

Point 2.3.1 names buses and point 2.4 articulated buses; point 2.3.2 says “Three-axle motor vehicles” and does not except buses. The limits govern use, not construction. Article 2 defines the maximum authorised weight as “the maximum weight for use of a laden vehicle in international traffic”, and Article 1(2) says the Annex I weights are “valid as circulation standards and thus refer to loading conditions, not production standards”. For national passenger transport, Article 4(2)(b) lets a Member State authorise vehicles that do not conform to points 1.3, 2, 3, 4.1 and 4.3, among them the weights. The Directive does not apply to articulated buses with more than one articulated section (Article 1(3)).

Length, width, height and the history of the bus provisions are covered in bus and coach dimensions, the matching rows for goods vehicles in truck weights, GVW and GCW.

Weights and seats by range

Two axles, near 12 metres. Gross figures run from 18,000 kg (the diesel HABAŞ ComfortCity, the BMC Procity 12 m CNG, the e-Kent, the Temsa Maraton 12) to 20,000 kg (the Iveco Urbanway and E-Way 12 m). The number in point 2.3.1, 19,500 kg, is printed for the Mercedes-Benz Citaro, Conecto, Intouro, eIntouro and Tourismo, the Setra S 515 HD and S 515 LE, the VDL Citea LF-122, the Solaris Urbino 12 electric, the Isuzu Citivolt 12 and the Volvo 7900 Electric 12.0 m. City buses of this length list 26 seats (Mercedes-Benz Conecto, Otokar Kent LF), 27 (BMC Procity), 1/31 (Citaro), 35 (Urbino 12 electric) or at most 37 (MAN Lion’s City 12), and totals of 100 (Urbino 12 electric), 101 (Conecto) or 110 (Citea LF-122). Coaches list 46+1+1 (Travego 15 SHD), 51 (Tourismo, S 515 HD), at most 53 (MAN Lion’s Coach, Neoplan Tourliner) and 53+1+1 (Maraton 12).

Three axles, one rigid body. The Mercedes-Benz Tourismo M/3 and L, the Intouro L, the Setra S 516 HD, S 517 HD, S 519 HD and S 518 LE and the three TopClass HDH models are given 24,750 kg, the three-axle diesel MAN Lion’s Coach 25,530 kg and the battery-electric Lion’s Coach 14 E 27,300 kg; Irizar gives its three-axle i6S a band of 25,000 to 26,000 kg. VDL gives its 14.9 m Citea LE-149 25,250 kg and no axle count. Standard seating on these bodies reaches 59 (Tourismo L, S 517 HD and S 517 HDH), 63 (S 519 HD) and 71 (Intouro L), and maximum capacity 117 (Intouro L) and 156 (S 518 LE).

Articulated. The number in point 2.4, 28,000 kg, is printed for the Mercedes-Benz Citaro G and Conecto G, the Isuzu Citiport 18, the BMC Procity 18 m and the articulated e-Kent. The Citiport 18 CNG sheet prints 29,000 with no unit, Karsan gives the e-ATA 18 29,000 kg with 28,000 kg optional, and the Iveco Urbanway and E-Way 18 m, the VDL Citea LF-181 and the articulated Volvo 7900 Electric are given 30,000 kg. Listed seats include 35 (E-Way 18 m, with a wheelchair space), 39 (Procity), 40 (Conecto G, Citiport 18) and 42 (Citaro G), and at most 60 on the MAN Lion’s City 18 E; totals include 150 (Conecto G, Volvo 18.0 m), 155 (Citiport 18), 163 (Citea LF-181) and 169 (Procity diesel).

Four axles, 21 metres. The Otokar Kent XL is given 34,000 kg with 38 seated and 182 standing. Article 1(3) of the Directive excludes articulated buses with more than one articulated section, and the Otokar documents behind its model page do not say how many articulated sections it has.

Double-deck. The Setra S 531 DT is given 26,000 kg, 83 seats in standard seating and a passenger capacity of 54 to 93. The Neoplan Skyliner brochure gives up to 83+1+1 seats, with up to 91 in an interurban layout, and no weight.

Under 11 metres. The Karsan e-JEST is given 5,000 / 5,200 kg, the 8.5 m Isuzu Grand Toro 11,480 kg, the 8.3 m Karsan e-ATAK 11,500 kg, the 9.5 m Temsa Avenue Neo 9e 15,700 kg and Iveco’s E-Way 16,000 kg at 9.5 m and 17,900 kg at 10.7 m. The Citaro K and the BMC Procity 10.7 m are both given 18,000 kg.

No gross weight. The documents for the MAN Lion’s Intercity, the Mercedes-Benz Travego, the Neoplan Skyliner and Tourliner, the Otokar Sultan and the Temsa Prestij give none. The Travego sheet gives axle capacities instead.

Gross weight and empty weight

Data sheets print the gross figure under many labels: “Gross vehicle weight” (Mercedes-Benz, Setra), “G.V.W. max permitted weight” (Iveco E-Way), “GVWR” (Temsa). UN Regulation No. 107 calls it the technically permissible maximum laden mass, M: “the maximum mass of the vehicle based on its construction and performance, stated by the manufacturer” (paragraph 2.19). That is a different kind of number from the Annex I limit: MAN states the two-axle Lion’s Coach C at 20,600 kg, above the 19.5 tonnes of point 2.3.1, and Iveco’s Urbanway sheets carry the footnote “Max depending on registration country”. How the two sets of figures are read side by side on a data sheet is set out in how a coach specification sheet is read.

For the unladen bus, the Regulation’s term is the mass of the vehicle in running order: “the mass of the unladen vehicle with bodywork”, counted with “coolant, oils, 90 per cent fuel, 100 per cent other liquids except used waters, tools, spare wheel and driver (75 kg)” and, for buses and coaches, a crew member of 75 kg if there is a crew seat (paragraph 2.18). So the Regulation’s unladen figure already includes a driver. Annex 11, paragraph 3.1 has that mass measured on the vehicles submitted for approval; where the result is within 3 per cent of what the manufacturer states for that technical configuration (5 per cent for an M2 vehicle of up to 3,500 kg), the stated mass is used.

No figure for it appears in the makers’ documents behind the table. On Iveco’s 12 m and 18 m E-Way sheets the “Gross kerb weight” row reads “according to equipment”, the “Dimensions & Weights” block of Temsa’s Prestij page has no weight row, and the Travego sheet prints no unladen weight.

How passengers count towards the weight

Annex 11, paragraph 3.2.3.1 of UN Regulation No. 107 sets the sum: the mass in running order, plus the mass of one passenger (Q) multiplied by the seated and standing passengers, plus the wheelchair and baggage masses and any coupling-point mass, “shall not exceed the mass M”. Paragraph 3.2.3.2 then tests the same load axle by axle. The Regulation does not apply to vehicles specially designed for the carriage of school children (paragraph 1.2.4); see school transport vehicles.

At those values 100 passengers count as 6,800 kg in Class I or A (100 × 68 kg). With M at 19,500 kg, that leaves 12,700 kg for the mass in running order and the wheelchair, baggage and coupling-point masses. In Class III, 51 passengers count as 3,621 kg (51 × 71 kg). The class definitions are in bus classes under UN R107, and the baggage floor is worked through in how a coach specification sheet is read.

What sets the number of seats

UN Regulation No. 107 starts from the floor. For Classes I, II and A, Annex 3, paragraph 7.2.2.3 says the seating places on each deck “shall be at least equal to the number of square metres of floor on that deck available for passengers and crew (if any) rounded down to the nearest whole number”. In Class I, excluding the upper deck, that number may be reduced by 10 per cent. A deck with 30 m² of such floor therefore has at least 30 seats, or 27 in Class I.

Standing passengers follow from what is left. Their number “shall not exceed” the standing area divided by the conventional space (Annex 11, paragraph 3.2.3.2.1), which at the values above is 8 people per square metre in Classes I and A and about 6.7 in Class II. The standing area deducts, among other items, the 300 mm in front of seats other than folding seats (225 mm may apply at a sideways-facing seat), any part of the floor not accessible when the seats are occupied, the area where Class II does not allow standing and the whole upper deck of a double-deck vehicle (Annex 3, paragraph 7.2.2.2). Where seating is variable, the requirements apply to each condition in turn: all seats occupied first, all standing areas first, and all wheelchair spaces first (Annex 11, paragraph 3.2.3.2.2).

Annex 3, paragraph 7.7.8.4.1 sets a minimum spacing between seats facing the same way of 650 mm in Classes I, A and B and 680 mm in Classes II and III. Makers’ documents tie the count to the layout:

• Pitch and fittings. Irizar’s 12 m i6S table lists, among other layouts, 55+1+1, 53+1+1 and 51+1+1 with a low toilet or none at 710 to 750 mm minimum pitch, and 51+1+1, 49+1+1 or 45+1+1 with a high toilet and a kitchen at 710 to 800 mm.
• Seats per row. The Mercedes-Benz Travego 15 SHD has 46+1+1 in 2+2 seating; the longer 16 SHD 2+1 has 41+1+1.
• Doors. Iveco’s 12 m Urbanway takes 20 to 31 seats with 3 doors and 27 to 36 with 2 doors. In Classes I, A and II the minimum number of service doors in UN Regulation No. 107 itself depends on the passenger count (Annex 3, paragraph 7.6.1.1), as set out in bus doors and emergency exits.

Each vehicle carries its own figures. Annex 11, paragraph 3.3.1 requires it to be clearly marked inside, in a position visible to the driver, with the maximum seating places and, if any, standing places and wheelchairs, and with the baggage mass.

How makers write seat counts

The notation is not uniform. Anadolu Isuzu spells it out for the Grand Toro as 37 passengers plus 1 driver, or 35 passengers plus 1 hostess plus 1 driver. Temsa, Otokar, Irizar and Neoplan write forms such as 53+1+1 and 39+1+1, Mercedes-Benz writes 1/51 on the Tourismo and 46+1+1 on the Travego, and MAN writes “Up to 55 + 1” on the Lion’s Intercity, whose documents do not say what the “+ 1” seat is.

Standard seating and capacity are different rows. Setra’s S 515 HD has 51 seats in standard seating and a passenger capacity of 40 to 55; its S 515 LE has a passenger capacity of 22 to 129. On buses with standing room, a maximum may combine seated and standing passengers, as on the Isuzu Citiport 18: 155 is 40 seated and 115 standing, and with 2 wheelchairs it becomes 40 seats and 107 standing.

Documents from one maker can also differ. For the Isuzu Citivolt 12 the catalogue gives a maximum of 100 passengers, the Turkish model page up to 98 and the English model page up to 115. For the Volvo 7900 Electric 12.0 m the specifications page gives 95 and the product page 98. For a 12 m Otokar Kent, the Turkish sheets give 26 + 76 and Otokar Europe’s KENT C 12 page 108.

Where weight and passenger numbers move together

Some makers’ documents tie the passenger number directly to the gross weight, the battery or the country of registration.

• Solaris. A footnote to its press release of 5 March 2024 gives, for the Urbino 12 electric with 300 kWh batteries, 100 people as the maximum in Italy, France and Spain at a gross vehicle weight of 20 tonnes, and 94 people at 19.5 tonnes “pursuant to European provisions”.
• BMC. The technical specifications for the Procity+ Electric 12 m list 31 seated and 31 standing, and in a row marked GVM 20 t 31 seated and 60 standing; at 18 m, 43 and 63, and 43 and 92 at GVM 30 t.
• Anadolu Isuzu. The Citivolt 12 catalogue keeps 34 seats and gives 48 standing places with the 449 kWh battery and 66 with the 361 kWh battery.
• Otokar. Its 2024 Turkish range brochure gives the e-Kent a maximum of 74 passengers at a maximum laden weight of 18,000 kg; Otokar Europe’s e-KENT C 12 page gives up to 122.
• Karsan. A footnote to the e-ATA figures says passenger capacity may change with battery capacity, seat layout, door arrangement, GVW and technical gross axle value depending on the country of registration.
• Temsa. The LD SB Plus brochure gives “59/ 63” passengers with the note “based on country regulations”.

US school buses

US federal rules define the gross vehicle weight rating as “the value specified by the manufacturer as the loaded weight of a single vehicle” (49 CFR 571.3). The rating is explained in GVWR, GCWR and GAWR. School bus makers publish it, and no curb weight appears in the documents below.

Trans Tech’s Type A school bus (up to 35 passengers), IC Bus’s RE Series (up to 90) and GreenPower’s BEAST (up to 90 passengers and driver) have no GVWR in the page text read. Collins adds that “All passenger capacities are references and subject to final weight analysis”. The type definitions, the GVWR subclasses in State law and the 4,536 kg line in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 222 are in school bus types and dimensions; the federal limits for a loaded truck are in how much a semi-truck weighs.

Rules by country

Countries without a row are not covered.