The Eglinton line, a cross-town light rail project that has been in development in some form or another for 80 percent of my time on earth, opened last weekend. Somehow it ruined my morning commute. The routes don’t even run parallel to each other. The bus that whisked me from home to work in 40 minutes has been split into two and fishhooks all the way to another major service road. Reduced service, reroutes, shitty weather and insult to injury the Eglinton line was down when I passed by. Obviously seeing Mamdani promise improved, free bus service for New Yorkers or Japan’s new Maglev shredding the sightline wells me up. Better things abroad. But it’s an upcoming Steam game that’s providing a new vision. One for proper retribution.
“Zero delays. Zero conscience.” is the tagline for Mad Bus Simulator. A game about ushering commuters across town on a timely schedule. The Japanese indie game is more Twisted Metal than Taxi Crazy. Behind the wheel, you tolerate nothing as you service the route. Plow through traffic. Discipline obnoxious riders. Upgrade your bus with armour and weaponry until you turn the 7 into something FOXHOUND would be assembled to deal with.
バスを“武装化”して渋滞を力でねじ伏せるバス運行ゲーム『Mad Bus Simulator』のSteamストアページが公開。遅延ゼロ、良心ゼロhttps://t.co/tPLh6lk2g0
走行時間やバスのダメージ量に応じて報酬を獲得。稼いだ資金で車両の性能を強化し、よりスムーズな運行でダイヤを死守しよう pic.twitter.com/dlqATDB9qz
— 電ファミニコゲーマー (@denfaminicogame) February 14, 2026
The brief but compelling trailer promises cars crumbling like porcelain under your wheels, rocket launchers, lightning canons, BattleBots saw blades and even that guitar riffing, fire spewing Doof Warrior from Fury Road. All the while you operate your bus at five miles an hour to ensure a comfortable, turbulence free commute for anyone inside the vehicle. Completing your routes on a timely basis and racking up damage will earn resources to reinvest in your civically-minded death machine.
Steam offers a plethora of specific vehicle simulators for trucks, tractors, trains, planes and, of course, public city buses. Each of these niche series offer accuracy-seeking experiences for gamers to live vicariously. The zen-like fugue achievable only to those who sit in traffic for us. Mad Bus Simulator instead opts to live in the thought bubble hovering a foot above your bus driver’s head, cutting through red tape and decapitating their enemies.
Mad Bus Simulator is currently in development and coming as quickly and unsafely to a Steam store near you.