Like train and aircraft spotters, bus spotters activities include monitoring bus route allocations, sharing knowledge about buses and taking pictures of buses.
[2][3] Some may be so keen that they might track a vehicle through its life, knowing for example which fleet numbers it has carried with different owners and when mechanical parts or interior fittings were renewed.
This practice is popular in the Greater Toronto And Hamilton Area in Canada.
Some bus spotters may list or trace the whereabouts of surviving retired vehicles from a particular operator to purchase them for preservation purposes.
The preserved buses can then be taken out to be driven either on discontinued services or through a set route for an event.