By the mid 1920s, most New Zealand tramways authorities also ran some motor buses. One of the main roles of buses was to carry passengers between tram terminals and new housing areas. In 1926, to prevent privately owned motor bus companies threatening the economic viability of the public tramways, the government passed legislation to limit the direct competition between them. However, there was still plenty of scope for private operators and by 1933, of New Zealand's 522 motor buses, 372 were privately run. Buses eventually replaced the tramway itself and enabled further urban sprawl.
MOTAT has a small but significant collection of buses and their associated objects such as bus tickets, timetables, signs and maps. MOTAT's bus collection covers Auckland buses, which operated in the outskirts, connecting with Ferry Services and acting as Tramways feeder services.
The oldest bus in the collections is the White Bus, donated to MOTAT in 1968, this bus is not currently on display.
