If Bus Driver Simulator keeps crashing or crawling below 30 FPS on PC, start with a clean Steam file verification, update your GPU driver, disable overlays, and lower shadows, reflections, mirrors, and traffic density before dropping resolution. Those fixes target the game’s most common trouble spots, while a capped 30 or 60 FPS profile usually delivers smoother driving than an unstable uncapped frame rate.
The game is not demanding in every scene, but its city routes can pile up traffic, reflective surfaces, lighting effects, and multiple viewports from mirrors. That creates a familiar pattern: acceptable performance on an empty road, followed by stutter near bus stations or a crash while loading a route. This guide separates genuine hardware limits from corrupted files, driver conflicts, shader-compilation stutter, and settings that are simply too aggressive for your PC.
Before changing anything, check the official Bus Driver Simulator Steam page for the current system requirements and recent update notes. If your installation is an older build, compare it with the developer’s latest announcements rather than relying on outdated forum advice.
Fix Bus Driver Simulator crashes first
Crashes should be dealt with before performance tuning. A game that is missing a package, loading a broken configuration, or fighting an overlay can appear to have a low-FPS problem when the real issue is stability.
1. Verify the Steam installation
Open Steam, right-click Bus Driver Simulator, choose Properties, open Installed Files, and select Verify integrity of game files. Steam will compare the local installation with its depot and download anything missing or corrupted. Do not launch the game while this check is running.
This is especially useful after a power cut, a failed update, moving the game between drives, or manually deleting files from the installation folder. It will not repair every damaged save or Windows driver, but it is the cleanest first step and costs nothing.
2. Disable every overlay temporarily
Turn off Steam Overlay, Discord Overlay, Xbox Game Bar, GeForce Experience or NVIDIA App overlay, AMD Adrenalin overlay, MSI Afterburner’s RivaTuner overlay, and recording software such as OBS Game Capture. Overlay hooks can conflict with fullscreen rendering, input focus, or older Unreal Engine components.
For Steam, use Properties and uncheck Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game. You can restore it later. If the crashes stop, re-enable overlays one at a time until you identify the offender. That is much more reliable than assuming the game itself is permanently broken.
3. Reset a damaged configuration
A bad resolution, unsupported fullscreen mode, or corrupted graphics setting can crash the game before the main menu appears. Close Steam completely, including its tray icon, then back up the game’s local configuration and remove only the graphics configuration files from the game’s user-data folder. The exact folder can vary by build, so use Windows Search for Bus Driver Simulator inside %LOCALAPPDATA% and %APPDATA%.
Rename the relevant folder to something like BusDriverSimulator_backup instead of deleting it. Relaunching should force a fresh configuration. If the game starts, restore saves or controller files selectively rather than copying the entire old folder back at once.
4. Repair Windows dependencies
Install pending Windows updates, then install or repair the Microsoft Visual C++ 2015–2022 Redistributable packages for both x64 and x86. Also install the current DirectX End-User Runtime from Microsoft’s official DirectX download page. These components are common crash dependencies for PC games even when DirectX 12 is installed.
Do not download replacement DLL files from random websites. If a crash message names a missing DLL, repair the official runtime instead. For more stubborn problems, open Command Prompt as administrator and run sfc /scannow, followed by DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth. Restart Windows after both commands complete.
5. Test a clean launch
Remove launch options, mods, reshade injectors, custom DLLs, and aggressive overclocking. Launch from Steam with no compatibility layer unless you specifically need one. On a laptop, connect the charger and confirm that the game is using the dedicated NVIDIA or AMD GPU rather than integrated graphics.
For laptops, go to Settings > System > Display > Graphics, add the game executable, choose High performance, and restart the game. NVIDIA users can do the same under NVIDIA Control Panel > Manage 3D settings > Program Settings.
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View on Steammoz Store →The best graphics settings for stable FPS
Once crashes are under control, tune one setting at a time. Bus Driver Simulator’s biggest frame-time spikes generally come from shadows, reflections, view distance, traffic, and mirror rendering. Resolution matters, but it is often a mistake to lower it first if the GPU is waiting on expensive scene effects.
| Setting | Recommended Value | FPS Impact | Visual Trade-Off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Display Mode | Fullscreen or borderless, whichever is stable | Low to medium | Fullscreen can reduce desktop interference; borderless makes alt-tabbing easier |
| Resolution | Native first, then 90% or 80% scale | High | Lower internal resolution softens distant signs and road markings |
| V-Sync | Off for testing; on if tearing is severe | Low | Off reduces latency but may show tearing |
| Shadows | Medium or Low | High | Lower settings reduce soft lighting and shadow distance |
| Reflections | Low | High in wet or dense city scenes | Bus paint and windows look less reflective |
| View Distance | Medium | Medium to high | Far buildings and traffic can pop in sooner |
| Anti-Aliasing | Medium or the lowest temporal option | Medium | Edges become slightly rougher at a distance |
| Effects or Post Processing | Medium | Medium | Less bloom, glare, and atmospheric polish |
| Traffic Density | Low or Medium | High on city routes | Fewer cars and a lighter CPU load |
| Mirrors | Low, reduced resolution, or off if available | Medium to high | Rear-view detail becomes less clear |
Start with 1920x1080 if you have a 1080p monitor, shadows on Medium, reflections on Low, view distance on Medium, and traffic on Medium. If your GPU has 4 GB of VRAM or less, avoid max textures and ultra reflections. Texture quality mostly affects VRAM capacity, while shadows and reflections affect rendering time every frame.
A 30 FPS cap is not a failure. Driving games feel far better at a locked 30 than at 22–47 FPS with constant judder. If your PC can maintain 60 FPS in the busiest city area, cap at 60. Otherwise, use the game’s limiter if available or cap the executable through your GPU control panel. Match the cap to your monitor’s refresh rate where possible.
Three tested-style profiles for different PCs
Use these profiles as starting points, not rigid rules. The processor matters more than many players expect because traffic, route simulation, pedestrians, and draw calls can create a CPU bottleneck even when GPU usage looks modest.
| PC Profile | Resolution | Core Settings | Target |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry-level laptop | 1600x900 or 1280x720 | Low shadows, Low reflections, Medium textures, Low traffic, Medium view distance | 30 FPS stability |
| Mainstream 1080p PC | 1920x1080 | Medium shadows, Low reflections, High textures if VRAM allows, Medium traffic | 45–60 FPS |
| Modern gaming PC | 1920x1080 or 2560x1440 | High textures, Medium-high shadows, Medium reflections, High view distance | 60 FPS with a cap |
| CPU-limited system | Native resolution | Lower traffic, view distance, shadows, and background detail first | Fewer city-route spikes |
To identify the bottleneck, monitor GPU usage and frame time with a trusted tool. If GPU usage sits around 95–99% while FPS is low, lower resolution, anti-aliasing, reflections, and effects. If GPU usage is low but the frame rate collapses near traffic or stations, reduce traffic and view distance, close background applications, and check CPU temperatures and clock speeds.
Why the mirror setting deserves special attention
Mirrors can behave like extra cameras. The game has to render parts of the world again for the left, right, and rear views, depending on the bus and camera mode. If your frame rate drops when you look toward the dashboard or use a cockpit view, lower mirror quality before destroying the entire image with a very low resolution.
Reflections are similarly expensive on wet streets and glossy buses. Low reflections usually preserve the driving experience, while the difference between Medium and High is much easier to notice in benchmark numbers than during a normal route.
Stop stutter caused by drivers, shaders, and background apps
Low average FPS is only half the problem. A route can report 60 FPS and still feel awful if frame times spike every few seconds. That usually points to shader compilation, asset streaming, CPU scheduling, or an application stealing focus.
Perform a clean GPU driver installation
Update your NVIDIA or AMD driver from the vendor’s official support site: NVIDIA driver downloads or AMD driver downloads. If the problem began immediately after a driver update, use the previous stable driver or perform a clean installation. Avoid installing multiple tuning, recording, and overlay components during the test.
After a major driver change, the first route may stutter while shaders are rebuilt. Let the game sit at the menu for a minute, drive a short route, and then test the same area again. Do not judge performance from the first thirty seconds after a fresh driver install.
Close software that competes for CPU time
Browsers with video tabs, RGB utilities, hardware monitors, cloud-sync tools, third-party antivirus scans, and recording software can all create spikes. Open Task Manager, sort by CPU and memory, and close anything unnecessary before launching. Keep Windows Security active, but add the game folder as an exclusion only if you understand the security trade-off and trust the installation.
Disable Discord’s hardware acceleration if Discord is open in the background, and test without browser hardware acceleration if you frequently alt-tab. These changes are not universal fixes, but they are useful when stutter appears only while overlays or video playback are active.
Use a sensible power profile
Set Windows to Best performance while testing. On NVIDIA hardware, use Prefer maximum performance for the game profile rather than globally. On a laptop, check the manufacturer’s performance mode and keep the charger connected. Thermal throttling can look exactly like a graphics problem: the game starts smoothly, temperatures rise, clock speeds fall, and FPS collapses ten minutes into a route.
Fix resolution, fullscreen, and black-screen crashes
If Bus Driver Simulator crashes after changing resolution or shows a black screen, reset the configuration rather than repeatedly forcing the same mode. Use Alt+Enter once to switch between windowed and fullscreen modes. If that works, choose a conservative resolution from the menu and restart normally.
Disable Windows fullscreen optimizations on the game executable only if standard fullscreen behaves badly. Right-click the executable, choose Properties > Compatibility > Change high DPI settings, and test the application override. Do not stack every compatibility option at once; compatibility mode can introduce new problems with modern Windows builds.
Players using ultrawide monitors, unusual refresh rates, HDR, or multiple displays should first test 16:9 resolution, SDR, and a standard 60 Hz refresh rate. Once the game is stable, restore one feature at a time. This isolates display-handshake problems from genuine game crashes.
Also remove forced driver-level sharpening, frame generation, aggressive scaling, and custom anti-aliasing overrides while troubleshooting. ReShade and post-processing injectors can be reinstalled after you have a stable baseline.
When saves, mods, or route loading trigger crashes
A crash that happens only when loading one route or save file is different from a crash at startup. First, verify the files, then disable mods and custom vehicle packs if you use them. A broken mod can load successfully in the menu and fail only when the game requests a specific asset during route streaming.
Back up your save folder before experimenting. Never overwrite the backup with a newly generated folder. Test a new profile or a fresh route: if the new profile works but the old save crashes, the installation and drivers are probably fine. You may need to restore an earlier save rather than repeatedly loading the damaged one.
Keep at least 10–15 GB free on the drive containing the game and Windows page file. Low free space can interfere with updates, shader caches, and temporary asset extraction. If the game is installed on a failing hard drive, move it to an SSD and check the drive’s health. Route loading and texture streaming are noticeably more consistent on an SSD.
A practical order for diagnosing every PC problem
Use this sequence instead of changing twenty options and losing track of what helped:
- Confirm the hardware target. Check your CPU, GPU, RAM, VRAM, Windows version, and available storage against the current Steam system requirements.
- Verify files. Restart Steam after the check finishes.
- Disable overlays and mods. Test a clean launch.
- Update or roll back the GPU driver. Use a clean installation if the issue started after an update.
- Reset the configuration. Rename the local settings folder so it can be restored.
- Apply the medium profile. Lower reflections, shadows, mirrors, traffic, and view distance first.
- Cap the frame rate. Choose 30 or 60 FPS based on the worst city section, not an empty road.
- Check temperatures and clocks. A hot CPU or GPU can cause both stutter and sudden exits.
- Test one route repeatedly. Use the same weather, camera, and traffic conditions for a meaningful comparison.
If the game still crashes after a verified installation, clean driver, reset configuration, and overlay-free launch, record the exact trigger: startup, menu, route loading, garage, cockpit view, or a particular city. Include the crash time, Windows Event Viewer entry, hardware specifications, and DxDiag report when contacting the developer through the official Steam community discussions. “It crashes” is difficult to investigate; “it exits while loading Moscow after switching to cockpit view on an RTX 2060 with overlays disabled” gives support something usable.
For players troubleshooting several demanding PC games, Steamoz’s guides to City of Gangsters crashes and low FPS and Dragonkin graphics settings cover the same process of separating driver problems from bad in-game presets. The principle applies here too: establish a clean baseline, change the settings that affect frame time most, and judge performance on the busiest route rather than the prettiest screenshot.
With verified files, current drivers, a fresh configuration, low reflections, sensible shadows, reduced traffic, and a stable FPS cap, Bus Driver Simulator should feel substantially smoother and launch more reliably. Keep the changes that improve frame-time consistency, not merely the ones that produce the highest number in an empty depot.