There are many ways to travel when you take a trip. You can drive yourself or take an airplane. In many areas of the country, especially urban areas of the northeast and West Coast, train is a convenient and cost-effective way to travel. However, these days most people forget about one other way to get you from point A to point B: A bus.
More people take buses than you might think. In any given year, there are about 750 million trips taken by motorcoach, which is often higher than the number of trips taken by commercial airplane. And that method of travel continues to grow, with a 7.5% increase from 2011-2012. Many people have a mistaken vision of bus travel from what they experienced in the past or what they see on TV. They envision cramped buses with no amenities riding with people who can’t afford to travel any other way. For the most part, that vision is incorrect. Many of today’s buses have more amenities than you might find on a plane or train.
Motorcoaches are the vehicles of choice for most people who travel on buses these days. These vehicles are decked out with comfortable seating and bathroom facilities, and many of them offer wifi, which allows you to travel comfortably on a bus. A motorcoach can be used for interstate travel or it can be used to transport people short distances, such as a school sports team or a group on a casino junket. Motorcoaches also operate as party buses for wedding parties and groups going to concerts. Those who travel this way for long distances usually do so because of cost, as bus travel is among the cheapest ways to travel. However, when you do a charter rental for a special event, you can expect to pay handsomely for the privilege.
Another advantage of charter bus travel is that it is friendly to the environment. You would think such large vehicles would use a lot of fuel, and they do, but they also take a lot of travelers off the road. They achieve more than 200 miles per passenger of fuel efficiency, compared with less than 100 for railroads and less than 50 for passenger vehicles and airplanes.
If you are considering a trip, whether it is a short jaunt or a cross-country odyssey, you should consider taking the bus.