The Knight Bus is a triple-decker, violently purple bus which
provides emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard
- it travels anywhere you want to go, as long as it's on land
and has a very eclectic staff: Stan Shunpike (conductor),
Ernie Prang (driver) ands a talking shrunken head (movie only).
The ride is very bumpy as the bus seems to jump erratically from
one place to another. One frequent passenger, Madam Marsh, has been
known to actually throw up while riding the bus. The driver and
conductor sit in the front of the bus in armchairs. During the night,
there are no other seats, rather a half a dozen brass beds per level.
In daytime, they're replaced by armchairs. "Knight Bus" is a play on
"Night Bus" - Night Buses run through the night in London and,
after the Tube and trains stop running (around midnight), are the
only public transportation available.
Source: HP Lexicon
