A bus started from the terminus with x passengers At the first stop another x passengers got on and 3 got off At the next stop 8 passengers got on There were then 37 passengers How many passengers?

Let's break it down: the bus started with ( x ) passengers. After the first stop, the number of passengers became ( x + x - 3 = 2x - 3 ). At the next stop, 8 more passengers got on, resulting in ( 2x - 3 + 8 = 2x + 5 ). Setting this equal to the final number of passengers, which is 37, we get the equation ( 2x + 5 = 37 ). Solving for ( x ), we find ( 2x = 32 ), leading to ( x = 16 ). Thus, the bus started with 16 passengers.