ETS2 Coaches DLC: release date, buses, jobs and features

By the EuroTruckSimulator2.uk team · Published 2 Nov 2026 · Updated 2 Nov 2026

Euro Truck Simulator 2: Coaches, the long-awaited ETS2 bus DLC, comes out on 12 November 2026. For the first time in ETS2 you can swap cargo for passengers: buy your own coach, drive scheduled bus lines with real stops and timetables, and take tourists to famous viewpoints across Europe. Here's everything SCS Software has announced so far, in one place, with a link to the official post for each part.

Looking for an ETS2 Coaches DLC free download? As of 2 November 2026, the official DLC is unreleased, its Steam price is not listed, and we have found no authorised free release from SCS. Use the official Steam page for its 12 November launch. Free community bus mods are separate projects, not copies of this DLC.

1. Release date and trailer

SCS Software announced on 1 November 2026 that the Coaches DLC for Euro Truck Simulator 2 will be released on 12 November 2026, two days after the Iceland map DLC (10 November). It's sold on Steam and needs the Euro Truck Simulator 2 base game. You can wishlist it now to get a message when it unlocks. Price not listed as of 2 November 2026.

Official trailer by SCS Software. It plays from YouTube when you press play, or watch it on YouTube.

Source: SCS blog: Coaches release date & video trailer reveal (1 Nov 2026)

2. The three coaches

At launch you get three officially licensed coaches. Each one drives differently and has its own chassis, engine and interior options. SCS plans to add more licensed coaches in future updates.

Screenshots: SCS Software (CC BY 4.0).

Sources: SCS blog: Scania Touring (20 Sep 2025) · Volvo 9700 Double Decker (8 Feb 2026) · MAN Lion's Coach (19 Dec 2025) · MAN gameplay preview (5 Jul 2026) · Scania gameplay preview (10 Oct 2026)

3. Passenger jobs: Quick, Contract and Tourist

SCS has announced three kinds of work, so you can start straight away, even before you can afford a coach of your own:

How a Contract Job works: pick a line in a city near you from the Contract Jobs menu, drive to that bus station, confirm the line, and the game skips ahead to the departure time. Your passengers board and you're off, stopping where the timetable says.

Tourist Jobs are the scenic ones. Local landmarks mean shorter trips, famous ones mean longer journeys, and some places have opening hours that the arrival time takes into account. When you get there you see a short cutscene of the viewpoint, often with a few lines about the place. Then you drive everyone back home.

Sources: SCS blog: vehicle ownership & job schedule (21 Aug 2026) · Tourist Jobs (7 Oct 2026)

4. Maps, stations and map DLC requirements

You need the ETS2 base game; Coaches does not include the separate map expansions. The areas you can visit depend on the maps you own. SCS says station changes to the base map and existing map DLCs are available to owners of those maps, even without Coaches. The official passenger-driving gameplay is the Coaches DLC addition.

The 1.61 update prepared several locations for coaches: Nuremberg gained a new bus station; Karlstad received a new station building; Aarhus and Thessaloniki had station updates; and a previously closed street in Heraklion was opened for a new station. Border crossings also received coach navigation and layout changes. These are examples of map preparation, not a complete list of launch routes or stops.

How many stations? SCS says there were already over 100 bus station locations across the ETS2 map, which it has been rebuilding for coaches, and it's adding new ones to fill gaps. It aims to cover key cities (including map DLCs that aren't connected to the rest of the road network) and as many capital cities as possible. It singled out Hunedoara in Romania as a landmark station built from scratch. Some stations are deliberately tight to drive into, and you may occasionally find other vehicles already parked there.

Routes SCS has shown: Duisburg to Rotterdam (MAN Lion's Coach) and Narvik to Andenes (Scania Touring). They're gameplay previews, not a list of every line.

Both from SCS's "Map changes for Coaches" in the 1.61 update post.

Sources: Coaches on Steam · SCS blog: Coaches: Bus Stations (5 Sep 2025) · Coaches in Map Expansions (19 Apr 2026) · 1.61 update release (17 Sep 2026)

5. Keeping passengers happy

With people on board, how you drive matters as much as where you go. A G-force indicator turns your driving into passenger satisfaction, and satisfaction counts towards your result at the end of the trip. Push it too far and you'll hear about it from the back of the coach.

1. Brake earlyHard braking is the quickest way to upset passengers. Ease off well before stops and junctions.
2. Take corners slowlyCoaches are long and tall, and sharp turns push the G-force meter up.
3. Watch the timetableBeing smooth is only half the job: you also have to arrive on time at every stop.
4. Plan your breaksSCS says coaches have mandatory breaks, just like trucks, so build rest stops into long lines.

Sources: SCS blog: Scania Touring gameplay preview · Mode Switch (mandatory breaks)

6. Buying and customising your own coach

You buy coaches from the Online Dealer, and they go in your garage without taking up any truck slots. A coach is a big investment, but your money is shared between your truck and coach careers, so truck jobs can pay for it. SCS says financing and loans will be available too.

• Choose the spec: chassis configurations, engines and gearboxes, depending on the model.
• Choose the inside: seat upholstery colours, curtains and some of the cabin accessories you already know from trucks.
• Unlock more as you go: some parts and accessories only unlock as you gain experience.
• Drive it anywhere: an owned coach isn't only for jobs. Fuel, fatigue and the other systems work as they do in your own truck.

Source: SCS blog: vehicle ownership & job schedule (21 Aug 2026)

7. Coach Mode: how it fits with your truck career

ETS2 is being split into Truck Mode and Coach Mode (American Truck Simulator also gets a Car Mode for Road Trip). Each mode has its own career, progress and statistics, but some things are shared:

You can switch modes whenever you're not driving, but you can only have one active job across all modes. The switch happens when you press Drive, and you carry on from wherever you left that truck or coach. The map shows where your other vehicle is parked. As SCS described it in September, the route planner stays with the mode you last drove until you set off.

Source: SCS blog: Coaches & Road Trip: Mode Switch (25 Sep 2026)

8. New things in the cab

• Destination display: shows the last stop above the windscreen. It's an accessory, so you can remove it.
• Split sun visors: the left and right halves move separately, which helps with the huge windscreens.
• Reversing camera: the dashboard screen switches from the sat nav to the rear camera when you select reverse. Very handy in tight bus stations.
• Interior lights: ambient lighting in the colour you choose, and a main ceiling light for night-time pick-ups.
• Passenger sounds: you'll hear people chatting on the way, and complaining if you brake too hard.

Sources: SCS blog: Coaches: new vehicle features (17 Jul 2026) · Scania Touring gameplay preview (passenger sounds)

9. Get your profile ready for launch

A big DLC is a good moment for things to break, especially if you use a lot of mods. Five minutes before 12 November can save your save game:

1. Back up your profileCopy the profiles folder (and steam_profiles if you use Steam Cloud) from Documents\Euro Truck Simulator 2 to somewhere safe.
2. Write down your mod listTake a screenshot of the Mod Manager, or save your mods in My mods, which keeps them in load order.
3. Check for mod updatesLook at each mod's official page. Every mod page here shows the game version its author lists.
4. Try Coaches on a new profileStart a fresh profile with no mods, try a Quick Job, then add your mods back a few at a time.
5. A mod you need isn't ready?In Steam, right-click the game, then Properties, then Game Versions & Betas. You can usually pick an older game version there until the mod is updated.

We'll add our own screenshots and what we find when we drive Coaches after release, including any problems with popular mods.

10. Bus mods and your mod list

Before this DLC, the only way to drive a bus in ETS2 was a mod. Those community coaches are still on the site, and they're a good way to try different bus types alongside the official three:

Browse all bus and coach mods, or use our ETS2 bus mod picks for 1.61 to choose a vehicle, passenger add-on or bus map. The mods below are independent projects; their compatibility with the Coaches DLC has not been verified.

Buses & coaches

Metalsur Starbus 3 405 vV1.1.2

by ARBusModsDrive an Argentine double-decker coach with community-created liveries and animated doors.Author: 1.61Free · DownloadBuses & coaches

Niccoló New Isidro 3 Multi-chassis vV3.4.2

by ARBusModsExplore an Argentine coach with Mercedes-Benz and Scania chassis choices and a large community livery collection.Author: 1.61Free · DownloadFull map

Real Bus Turkey 1:1 Map v1.4.2

by Realistic Gameplay TvExplore a full-scale Turkish map around Bursa, İnegöl and Bozüyük, with detailed roads, bus stations, local companies and truck loading opportunities.Author: 1.61Free · Download

On release day: a new DLC often arrives with a game update, and mods made for the old version can stop working. SCS hasn't said which game version Coaches needs (the 1.62 update has been in open beta since 22 October 2026). If the game crashes after updating, switch your mods off and add them back a few at a time, or paste your log into the crash-log checker. Our load order guide explains where mods should go.

11. Quick questions

New to mods? Start with how to install ETS2 mods, or browse all mods and the ready-made mod sets.