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Urban

Although buses tend to take longer to reach their destination than the metro, they have some advantages: they cover a larger area of the city and you get to see where you're going. Most bus stops have detailed city maps posted (useful even if you're not planning to take a bus) which include the various bus routes. In terms of accessibility, most urban buses nowadays have a special ramp for elderly and disabled people; and (quite importantly) they're air-conditioned in the summer.
At the website of Madrid Transport Consortium you can get information about the different lines, the best paths between two points of the city, fares, timetables, etc.
Single tickets can be bought at the bus. Usefully, there are ten journey tickets (Metrobus) valid for both buses and underground which can be shared by more than one person on a journey, these, you buy in any metro station either at the machines or at the ticket office. There are also special tourist passes for 1, 2, 3, 4 , 5 and 7 days which you can also buy at the metro stations, at tourist offices and also online. Monthly passes, which are also valid on the metro, can also be purchased in some Estancos where you'll need your DNI card (for Spaniards) or your passport (for non-Spaniards) and a passport-sized photo. The buses run from 6:00 am to 23.30 pm, after which you will have to rely on night-buses (called 'buhos', meaning owl -see below) or taxis.

Suburban

Madrid has become an extended metropolis. About 6 million people live in its far reaching metropolitan area. Suburban buses connect the city with 176 municipalities in its sorroundings. Some of them have cercanias trains or metro service, but definitely buses are still the main system of transport for these areas. There are hundreds of lines run by Madrid City Transport Consortium which cover all the suburban area. In their web you can get exhaustive information about the routes, timetables, fares and the best path to get from one place to another. In the website of the company autoperiferia there's also information of the lines going west: to Parque Empresarial, Las Rozas, Brunete, Las Matas, Villanueva de la Cañada and others.
For bus destinations outside Madrid, see our long distance buses section.

Night buses: 'buhos'

If you need a lift after 23.30 pm you'll have to rely on either the taxis or the 'buhos' -Madrid night buses. There are over 20 'buhos' bus lines. All start at Plaza de Cibeles (on map C2-[d4]), at 24.00 pm leaving on weekdays every 35 minutes until 3.20 am and then every 70 minutes all night long. At weekends and Fridays they run all night long every 20 minutes.
There is also a 'Metrobuho' service at weekends and Fridays, bus lines that follow the metro lines paths and have the same frecuency as the 'buhos'.

www. Madrid Transport Consortium
www. Madrid City Transport Company