A journey on a motor bus is an adventure, an invitation to discovery, excitement, and the promise of new places and new people. In fact, the magical mystery tour probably hired a charter bus. Regardless of where you’re going, a journey is an adventure, and experienced adventurers know how important it is to be comfortable while traveling. So even if you’re not hearing off into the great unknown but just taking a school trip to the natural history museum, or your bingo club to the casino in the next state, or your employees for a day by the seaside, chartered buses will get you there and back in comfort and safety.
Chartered bus services have been around since the 1820s
In fact chartered buses have been taking tour groups to and from their destinations for nearly two hundred years. The oldest forms of charter bus in fact predate the internal combustion engine and the oldest buses were dream by horses in the 1820s. By the 1830s, steam powered buses were being used in England.
At the present time, motor buses carry 751 million passengers each year, and the numbers are growing rapidly each year. Their ability to reduce the carbon footprint of journeys makes them one of the most ecofriendly forms of transportation.
The benefits of bus travel
The advantages of chartering a bus have been apparent since the beginning. They can carry large numbers of people to a shared destination, in comfort. For passengers, there no need to worry about road conditions, maintaining the bus and making sure the fuel tank doesn’t run empty in the middle of nowhere.
You can focus on your destination and on the company you have for the journey.
Motor coaches are the most ecofriendly form of travel
While chartered buses and motor coaches are not the only form of transport that move large numbers of people to a common destination, they are the most ecofriendly. Even more so than trains and airplanes, they achieve the highest number of passenger miles per gallon. In fact, comparing the different forms of transportation, we find that:
- Motorcoaches achieve 206.6 passenger miles per gallon (MPG)
- Commuter rail: gets 92.4 passenger MPG
- Transit buses: 31.4 passenger MPG
- Domestic airplanes: 44 passenger MPG
- Personal automobiles: 27.2 passenger MPG
- Hybrid cars: 46 passenger MPG
Not only are they the most fuel efficient form of transportation per passenger, motor coaches have the lowest emissions and emit the least amount of carbon dioxide per passenger mile. By carrying large numbers of passengers, each motor coach potentially removes 55 vehicles from the highway. The benefits of this reduction include less traffic and congestion on the roads, lower energy use and reduced emissions of harmful gases.
Charter bus trips can be fun
Not only are chartered buses convenient and ecofriendly, they can be fun. In fact you may even enjoy the journey more than the destination. If you’re traveling with a congenial group of friends and family, you can provide your own entertainment. Otherwise there are films, iced drinks, and you can even get wifi on a bus. Or you may just choose to recline your seat, put on your headphones and enjoy the spectacular scenery.
With all these advantages, it’s no wonder that trips on chartered buses are on the rise. Passenger bus travel in the U.S. grew by 7.5% in 2011-2012. This makes it the fastest growing form of travel in the country, as reported in a study by the American Bus Association.
