We consider the dynamics of the Bose-Hubbard model on general lattices and prove a Lieb-Robinson bound for observables whose supports are separated by an initially particle-free region. We further obtain a maximal velocity bound for particle transport through an initially empty region which also applies to long-range hopping. Our techniques originate in the proofs of maximal velocity bounds for Schrodinger operators and scattering theory in non-relativistic QED.