A multi-drop bus system and a method for operating such a system. The system includes a multi-drop bus having at least one bus line, each bus line being made up of a multiple of line segments. Each of the line segments terminates at a drop point and each drop point is coupled to a load impedance. The characteristic impedance of a line segment is matched to the equivalent impedance presented by the load impedance in combination with the characteristic impedance of a following segment, or is matched to the load impedance if there is no following segment.