Thousands of us rely on them day to day to commute to work, do our shopping or visit loved ones - but "life on the buses" in Merseyside has changed a lot compared to previous generations.
Many will remember the days of getting on from the back of the bus, or getting used to paying with decimal coins in the early 1970s. Blue and cream buses were also a familiar sight down our busy streets and passengers didn't have mobiles or headphones to keep them entertained on their journeys.
James Kewley, known as Jimmy, is based at the Birkenhead depot on Laird Street and has been working on the buses for nearly 57 years. Now 74 and working part time, Jimmy, from Rock Ferry, began his long career as a conductor in his late teens before moving to work as a driver.
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As part of the Liverpool ECHO's How It Used To Be series, we spoke to Jimmy about how life as a bus driver in Birkenhead has changed through the decades. Jimmy told the ECHO: "I got married when I was 19 and I was actually working in Cammell Laird at the time but I wanted to get a job where I could earn a bit of money.
"I joined the buses when I was a teenager and I was working out of the New Ferry depot that was closed down in 1973 and I was then transferred down to Laird Street. It was a great job, I was a conductor for three years because you had to be 21 to go driving.
"They were very busy in the early days - in the 60s, 70s and 80s - and the traffic was just as bad then as it is now. The buses themselves looked a lot different back then.
"They were back loaders so everybody got on at the back when I first started. I worked for the Birkenhead Corporation first of all and they were blue and cream.
"It was very cold in the winter handing on the back as a conductor. We used to get in a fair amount of money in on our shifts, we would get £30 or £40 pounds and in those days that was a lot of money."
Driving around Wirral through the years, Jimmy has seen a lot of change, from how the area looks to the routes passengers used to take. Jimmy said: "The centre of Birkenhead has changed dramatically to the way it used to be.
"I can remember on the New Chester Road in the peak hours, huge traffic jams all the way from Bolton Road, all the way down to Bedford road. The routes are totally different now too.
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"We used to do the 44 which went from New Ferry by where New Ferry baths used to be and then went down to Eastham Ferry. But the 44 doesn't run now and the 39s and 41s don't run as they used to, we don't operate them now they're operated by Stage Coach."
Passengers still depend on the buses for daily commutes to work, school and more. And over the decades, Jimmy has got to know many of the regular commuters who he always makes time to talk to.
Jimmy said: "People did rely an awful lot on the buses and we had a lot of inspectors back then to make sure we didn't run early and leave people behind, especially in the peak hours, with the likes of the nurses getting to work and other people getting to the stations. In the early days, when it got to the evening time, all the buses leaving Woodside going out to various destinations like Heswall, New Brighton, Easthem etc - on the last trip, 11pm at night, it didn't matter what time you were due out.
"Whether it was 10.50pm or 11pm on the dot, you couldn't go until the inspector blew the whistle because he was waiting for the last ferry boat to come in so we could get the passengers off the ferries. We used to have a bus and boat ticket, it was only around 1 and 6 and you had the use on the bus and the ferry.
"I've spoke to a lot of people on the buses through the years, especially if they didn't look very happy. You knew where they were going to get off and the time they'd usually get on.
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"There was many a time when I was a conductor and I'd say to the driver can you hang on a minute someone who gets this every day isn't here yet. Most times they did show up and say thanks for waiting. They always say thanks the public, it’s not very often people walk past without saying thanks."
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To mark half a century of service, Arriva also celebrated Jimmy's 50 years of service with a photograph of him printed on the back of his bus. He said: "In my younger days I used to do a lot of private hires, I'd go down to London, I've been everywhere, but I do love the driving, its the driving, I like more than anything.
"I love the job, I really do and to me, going to work is a pleasure. When I started, the people were great and they’re still great to be honest - there’s not much difference there between now and then."
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