High Points
- Motorcoaches currently provide 184 passenger miles per gallon (MPG), more than double the second most fuel-efficient sector, commuter rail at 86 passenger MPG. Transit buses achieve 32 passenger MPG, domestic air carriers achieve 42 passenger MPG, and single passenger automobiles achieve 28 passenger MPG.
- Motorcoaches produce carbon emissions of only 56 grams per passenger, compared to 371 grams for a passenger car.
- Motorcoaches use 946 BTUs per passenger mile, compared to 3,890 for planes and 2,134 for trains.
- Motorcoaches emit the least carbon dioxide (CO2) per passenger mile when compared to other vehicles. Carbon dioxide emissions are reduced by an average of 85% per passenger mile for every person who chooses motorcoach travel instead of driving alone.
- Each motorcoach has the potential of removing 55 autos from the highway. That's millions of cars not driven annually, saving fuel, cutting emissions and reducing congestion.
By it's Very Nature, Traveling By Bus is Green
Think about it! When your attendees travel by motor coach instead of rental car or personal car to an event or conference up to 55 cars are being taken off the road! Remind your attendees to travel by bus whenever and wherever they can. To illustrate, think about this:
More cars on the road – whether they are hybrid or not still adds up to congestion - "traffic jams cost $78 billion in lost hours and wasted fuel in 2005" according to the 2007 Urban Mobility Report of the Texas Transportation Institute. Let’s take 56,000 Toyota Priuses and put them in a lane next to 1,000 motor coaches and see which lane has the most congestion and the most CO2 emissions into the air.
A bus, by its very nature, is green! Encourage your attendees to travel by bus from their hotel to the conference center and events.
What Coach America is Doing
For years, Coach America has been recycling in the office. We recycle paper, cardboard, glass, plastic, aluminum, cell phones, toner cartridges, printer and fax ink cartridges. Coach America uses 100% recycled paper, low wattage bulbs and we re-use cardboard boxes and packing materials, file folders and we print on scrap paper whenever possible.
We have a green program in place for our drivers, showing how they can save on fuel and help our environment on every trip. We request that all drivers go to low/no idle whenever they are able and remind them to inspect their tires, lower window shades when the engine is off, reduce road speeds and in general, adjust their driving habits to save fuel.
Coach America staff members are responsible environmental citizens. We don’t know everything there is to know about what it means to be green but we are finding out and reaching out to our vendor partners to learn everything we can about the industry. Here are few things we have learned along the way.
Bio Fuel – Biodiesel is a naturally grown, alternative fuel source. It's a cleaner burning fuel and therefore substantially reduces emissions of pollutants, such as air toxics and hydrocarbons. It also provides significant reductions in greenhouse gases that cause global warming. Because it's homegrown, it reduces our dependence on foreign oil, and it's renewable. And when oil spills do occur, there is very little damage from biodiesel because it is biodegradable. Studies have even shown that it can reduce wear on the life of an automotive engine by up to half. Coach America is using biodiesel in Portland, OR and other cities.
Low Emission Engines – the EPA has mandated for 2007 and 2010 new engine technology that will reduce carbon emissions by 90 percent. One of the leading manufacturers of motor coaches to the industry, MCI, is installing this technology on all of its new models. This is a great advance in engine technology.
So, if Coach America vendor partners don’t have access to bio diesel nor can afford to update their fleet with 2007 model coaches how can they be considered green?
Remember – if you hire buses for your conference or events, you are taking up to 56 cars off the road per motor coach you hire! That’s how you save on fuel and congestion!
Coach America is committed to lessening its impact on the environment responsibly.
This means: we won’t try to green wash our clients or our company by telling you we are doing nothing different but buying carbon offsets to limit our impact on the environment. We are committed to doing the right thing not because it sounds right but because it is right. We are committed to learning about our industry and teaching what we’ve learned to our employees and vendor partners. We will buy green wherever and whenever it is fiscally responsible and when the green partner has met excellent customer service standards as well. We pledge to learn more about what it means to go green in our industry.
