Posted by ABA President & CEO Peter J. Pantuso, May 20, 2008

People are getting the message that we’re green. But we’re also clean.

What’s the difference? Plenty. A Hummer might be clean because it meets stringent emissions regulations. But it isn’t green, because it’s such a gas-guzzler. An old transit bus from the 1970s might be green if the people riding it would have otherwise driven personal autos. But it isn’t clean, because it pre-dates modern emission-control advances.

It isn’t easy being green and clean. But new motorcoaches are both. We’re green because we have the best per-passenger fuel economy of any transportation mode.

But we’re also clean. Today’s diesel motorcoach is more than 98 percent cleaner in terms of all emissions than the diesels from the 1980s. In fact, it takes 60 new motorcoaches to create the same amount of smog-forming emissions produced by a single bus from 1988.

Government requirements have played a role. But the industry has stepped up and done its job to meet those requirements through innovative engineering and leading-edge technology.

Diesel engine and coach manufacturers have met the challenge posed by the landmark 2007 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency emissions standards. For nearly a decade, companies logged hundreds of thousands – if not millions – of test miles to ensure that new 2007 buses would be powerful, efficient and clean.

Chief among the technologies that have made new coaches so clean is the emissions filter that captures fine particles and keeps them from escaping into the air. These particulate traps act like self-cleaning ovens, and are a tribute to the expertise of coach builders.

In 2010, another round of new EPA standards will make coaches even cleaner still. Our industry’s best and brightest are working already on new design components and emissions hardware to be ready for the new standards. But their work isn’t just about meeting new regulations with better technology. It’s about changing public perceptions about the diesels of yesteryear.

Not long ago, diesel was so derided that many suggested even changing the name of the efficient, durable, powerful propulsion technology developed by Rudolph Diesel in the 19th century. But today, clean diesel means clean air.

So let’s start raising awareness of how clean we are, as well as how green we are. Ultimately, talking clean when talking green will continue to elevate the visibility of the motorcoach solution – and fill more seats on our clean & green coaches.