Coach buses provide long-distance, low-emission convenience

Greyhound gets some competition from Megabus.com

Posted by Gar Lipow (Guest Contributor) at 3:28 PM on 02 Aug 2007

Read more about: placemaking | public transportation | fuel efficiency

Buses, on average, get low passenger miles per gallon in the U.S., because they stop often and don't use most of their capacity. Coach buses -- providing prebooked travel between cities -- don't suffer from these limitations.

Megabus Megabus.com, a new niche player in this market, provides cheap, comfortable travel between nearby cities with travel time comparable to driving or taking commuter airlines (in a very small portion of the U.S.). Efficiency is 184 passenger miles per gallon -- without using hybrid buses or using any particular efficiency technology. They just use yield management ticket booking, where the earlier you book a ticket (relative to other passengers) the less you pay for your seat. (Thanks, Jordan Hayes for the tip.)

For story: Coach buses provide long-distance, low-emission convenience
5 Comments | Post a Comment

<sound of crickets>

Hey man, get real, "loser cruisers" don't make midlife white guys pop a chubby the way Teslas do.

The 5% Project

by JMG at 10:02 PM on 02 Aug 2007

LOL, JMG

Never heard such a funny in years.

The bus engines might be running ultra-low emitted EPA or ARB standards, have a particulate filter, and use extremely clean fuel oil. The new owners would be very proud of this if that's the deal, since it is all very expensive.

Next generation buses aren't available in big numbers or at reasonable costs. Advanced gaseous, fuel cell, hybrid, and other technologies are for the most part experimental. Bus companies don't want experimental, they want dependability.

Honestly, did you make up "pop a chubby" on your own? -sammie

Onward through the fog

by Sam Wells at 11:21 PM on 02 Aug 2007

Alas, no

All who know me agree I'm not that clever. Not only that, but there's a band going under the name Poppa Chubby, so if I did say it was my own creation, I'd be sure to get busted.

The 5% Project

by JMG at 11:26 PM on 02 Aug 2007

184 passenger miles per gallon pretty impressive

I've been taking the bus a lot more lately. Once you get in the habit, it's a lot better than driving.

by amc89 at 7:56 AM on 03 Aug 2007

Turkey's way ahead of us

I recently traveled to Turkey - one of the few countries with a rail system as bad as ours (ok, maybe not quite that bad). How do people in a large country and not quite the income levels for airplane travel get around? Motor coaches. Every city and town has a central bus station, with competing bus companies working to fill their busses. Every bus I rode on was more comfortable than an airplane (ah, leg room) and packed solid (no wasted fuel). They run non-stop from towns to cities and between each city, meaning you need 2 transfers at most.

I think as fuel prices and security requirements increase (arrive 2 hours before my flight? It's a 2 hour flight!), we may find bus systems more attractive.

by Matt G at 8:12 AM on 06 Aug 2007

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