When passengers travel to an event or conference by motor coach instead of by car — either rental or personal — up to 55 cars are taken off the road! Too many vehicles on the road, whether hybrid or not, are the sole cause of congestion. And according to the 2007 Urban Mobility Report of the Texas Transportation Institute "traffic jams cost $78 billion in lost hours and wasted fuel in 2005".
Fortunately, one motor coach emits less CO2 and causes significantly less congestion than 55 of the most fuel efficient car. In addition:
- 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 motor coach travel instead of driving alone.
Coach America is already using bio-fuel in many of its markets. In fact, the entire fleet at RAZ Transportation uses bio-fuel!
Read more about it on the RAZ website.
Coach America is committed to responsibly lessening its impact on the environment. Our Motorcoaches, by their very nature, are green!
The Future of Green Transportation
The future of Green Transportation is exciting and Coach America is perfectly situated to take advantage of improvements in state-of-the-art technology and operating methods. We work closely with our vendor partners and are committed to continuous improvement in this area. Here are few things we have learned along the way:
Carbon Offsets — For many of Coach America’s competitors, purchasing Carbon Offsets to compensate for the emissions their buses release into the atmosphere is their sole "Green" strategy. While this is better than doing nothing, it doesn’t change the fact that the environment is still being affected by the emissions and the concern that not enough of the offset actually goes to projects designed to reduce emissions.
Bio Fuel — Biodiesel is a naturally grown, alternative fuel source. It is 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 climate change. Because it is homegrown, biodiesel also reduces our dependence on foreign oil, and it is renewable. On the rare occasions that 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.
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 Motorcoaches to the industry, MCI, is installing this technology on all of its new models. This is a great advance in engine technology.
Ultra-Low-Sulfur Diesel — Ultra-Low-Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) describes a standard for defining diesel fuel with substantially lowered sulfur contents. Since 2006, almost all of the petroleum-based diesel fuel available in North America is of a ULSD type. The move to lower sulfur content is expected to allow the application of newer emissions control technologies that should substantially lower emissions of particulate matter from diesel engines. New emissions standards, dependent on the cleaner fuel, have been in effect in the United States since model year 2007.
According to EPA estimates, with the implementation of the new fuel standards for diesel, nitrogen oxide emissions will be reduced by 2.6 million tons each year and soot or particulate matter will be reduced by 110,000 tons a year.
What Coach America Is Doing
Coach America is committed to doing the right thing not because it sounds right but because it is right. We buy green wherever and whenever it is fiscally responsible and when a green supplier has met excellent customer service standards as well. We are dedicated to learning about our industry and training our employees and vendor partners.
For years, Coach America has had a robust recycling program in our offices. 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.
Coach America has a Green program in place for our drivers, showing how they can save on fuel and help our environment on every trip. We train all our 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.
Read more about how RAZ's entire fleet is using bio-fuel on the RAZ website.