El Chisme

Maybe it's a regional thing, but I don't think so. I've known a number of people who worked in restaurants, and the waiters and bussers were always separate jobs, very clearly different in their roles. A lot of times someone who was a bussers for a while first would end up becoming a waiter.

Yes, "bus boy" is another term for it, phased out for obvious reasons but I think even back in the good old chuddy prewoke days, they were called bussers too.

But no, the OP image is definitely a waiter since she's taking an order, a busser would not do that. The waiter takes the order and brings the food (among other things) but a busser cleans the tables afterwards and brings all the used dishes to dishwashers. They set up the place and like has been said, move stuff that needs moving and clean up things that need to be cleaned up. The busser usually has no contact with the patrons/customers. They will more often be seen pushing carts with dishes, both clean and dirty, but the waiters do not deal with that kind of thing.

It also matters what kind of establishment it is. If it's a little cafe, you're more likely to have the waiter doing the table cleanup, but I would guess that's only because there isn't enough volume to need a busser. The OP pic is of a kind of place that doesn't exist much anymore unless its as a kind of nostalgia gimmick. It's a fast food place where a person brings the food out to your car instead of going through a drivethrough.