Ride a Motorcoach -- The Greenest Approach

By supporting motorcoach transportation, which is the most fuel-efficient way to travel, you might just help save an ice cap or two.

ABA and the motorcoach industry is doing its part to stop habitats from melting away. When you go by motorcoach, you go green. Whether running on various blends of ultra-low sulfur or biodiesel fuel, motorcoaches are part of America's energy solution.

Today's motorcoach is a model of environmental stewardship. On a per passenger basis, motorcoaches have superior passenger fuel efficiency compared to all other transportation sectors.

Adding to their already energy-efficient record, the EPA now requires that motorcoaches manufactured in 2007 and beyond be equipped with emissions-lowering technology that vastly reduces emissions of both particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen oxide (NOx). All new motorcoches equipped with 2007 diesel engines are vastly greener than their predecessors.

Efficiency Facts

• Each motorcoach has the potential of removing 55 autos from the highway. That's millions of cars not driven, saving fuel, cutting emissions, reducing congestion, and maybe saving a penguin.
• 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.
• What About Biodiesel?
  Biodiesel is a blend of conventional diesel fuel and blendstocks made from fatty substances such as soybean oil and waste cooking oil. Most diesel vehicles can use biodiesel fuel at up to 5 percent concentrations (B5) without modifying the vehicle’s fuel system and powertrain, and some diesels are modified to use higher concentrations, such as 20 percent or 100 percent (B20 and B100). One important benefit of biodiesel is that it adds needed lubricity to diesel fuel. All diesel engines, especially advanced common rail diesel engines, operate at extremely high pressures and require good lubricity in the fuel to prevent wear. It is also critical that any biodiesel fuel meet certain specifications to ensure that it will work properly in today’s sophisticated motorcoach engines. All motorcoaches require good quality fuel to minimize emissions and optimize engine performance.