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The Knight Bus is a magical form of transportation in Harry Potter that helps witches and wizards in need. It is a triple-decker bus, accessed by spiral staircases, and is invisible to muggles. The bus is run by Ernie Prang and Stan Shunpike, and has a shrunken head in the films. The ride is uncomfortable and bumpy, but faster than a normal bus. The name is a pun on London Night Buses, which run at night when other transportation shuts down.
The Knight Bus is a magical form of transportation in the Harry Potter novels that comes to render assistance to witches and wizards in need, who greet it by raising their wand hand. It is also possible to schedule a trip on the Knight Bus if a witch or wizard has a specific trip in mind. In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the Knight Bus is described as a “violently purple, triple-decker bus”, possibly modeled after the traditional red double-decker buses common in Muggle London. Due to the inconvenience of traveling on the Knight Bus, it is used as a means of transit of last resort by most witches and wizards. The bus appears to be invisible to muggles.
The decks of the Knight Bus are accessed via spiral staircases, and the interior of the bus is lit with candles hanging from the walls. During the day the Knight Bus is equipped with chairs for passengers to use, while at night the chairs turn into beds. A fare of 11 Sickles pays for Harry Potter’s journey from Little Whinging, Surrey, to London in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and for another two Sickles, Harry gets the option of a hot chocolate. Two extra Sickles will also provide the passenger with a hot water bottle and toothbrush.
In the books, the Knight Bus is run by Ernie Prang, the chauffeur, and Stan Shunpike, the conductor. In the films, a shrunken head has been added to the Knight Bus crew. Ernie and Stan are the names of JK Rowling’s grandparents, while in British slang, a Shunpike is a back road that can be taken to avoid a toll. “Prang” is also British slang and comes from the Royal Air Force in World War II, which referred to a car or plane crash as a prang. Both staff members sit in large armchairs at the front of the bus and Shunpike jumps out when the bus stops to help the passengers with their luggage. In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Shunpike was wrongfully imprisoned on suspicion of being a Death Eater.
The Knight Bus can travel like a normal bus, but appears to be capable of faster speeds, though the ride is not comfortable, as the bus rattles and appears to be on the verge of constantly crashing into obstacles. Also, the bus sometimes makes sudden jumps from place to place, accompanied by jerks and bangs. These leaps appear to resemble apparition, another magical method of carrying that is usually undertaken by a single witch or wizard. The Knight Bus is also unable to travel underwater, but can presumably override it to travel to England, Scotland and Wales.
The name of the Knight Bus is probably a pun on London Night Buses. Like most major metropolitan areas, London has fewer public transport routes at night and shuts down the tube altogether after a certain hour. To compensate, night bus lines run along the city’s major thoroughfares to provide transportation. As any city dweller waiting for a bus at three in the morning knows, any bus is a welcome sight, and drivers also tend to drive more quickly and recklessly because there is less traffic on the road.
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