If you need to transport a large group of people, bus charter services may actually be the most responsible (not to mention most affordable) way to do it. When it comes to arranging transportation for family, school or corporate events, buses ensure a stress-free trip. But the benefits of letting someone else do the driving go far beyond napping as you please. Here are some facts you may not have known about charter bus transportation:
Safety
According to Department of Transportation statistics, charter bus lines are the safest form of surface transportation available. The government has to issue a DOT number and operating authority to bus lines, so you should ask for those before contracting with any charter bus lines. Regulations also require annual safety inspections, and the government rates carriers on their safety practices (you can easily find the ratings online).
Emissions
Just like car technology, bus technology is constantly evolving to be more efficient and better for the environment. But buses are also greener because they mean fewer cars on the road. The vast majority of pollution is caused by passenger vehicles.
A 2007 study commissioned by the American Bus Association showed both that motor coaches had the lowest carbon dioxide emissions per passenger mile (the distance traveled times how many passengers carried) and used the least energy to travel each passenger mile. This basically means that using group transportation can conserve fossil fuels as well, since the passenger miles per gallon (pmpg) a motor coach can achieve is much higher than a personal car—over 160 pmpg.
Traffic Congestion
Using motor coaches, instead of personal vehicles, for transportation also takes cars off the road and eases traffic congestion. Statistics show that U.S. highway congestion leads to wasted resources and lost productivity to the tune of $72 billion a year. A single charter bus can remove up to 57 passenger cars from freeways and highways—reducing traffic volume by 425 million cars annually.
Did you know that charter bus lines are safer and more efficient than passenger cars? Does that make you more likely to charter a bus in the future? Share your reaction in the comments.
