In 2013, American stand-up comedian, Reginald D. Hunter, related the entire plot of Bus 44 to audiences during one of his routines about "f*** you movies".
"Bus 44" was the first Chinese short film to win an award in the history of Venice Film Festival and Sundance Film Festival. "Bus 44" was the first-ever Chinese short film to be selected for the Cannes Film Festival Directors' Fortnight.
In interviews, writer-director Dayyan Eng stated the film itself wasn't based on any one particular incident, rather it was inspired by a mix of true events and urban legend.
Beibi Gong (The Bus Driver) and Chao Wu (The Young Man) also starred in Dayyan Eng's very popular romantic comedy Waiting Alone (2004).
The Chinese characters for '44' and 'dying' are homophones and as a result, the number 4 is considered very unlucky, akin to the number 13 in the West. The director uses two number fours on the bus to signify the upcoming death of two parties: the driver and the passengers.