Charter buses and motorcoaches have established themselves as a popular and efficient means of travel today, and for many Americans, they are a primary means of transport. A charter bus can be useful for many different people who need to get around, from tourists to commuters to those who don’t own a car. For many rural Americans, buses are the main way to reach a city, and those who are traveling to or from an airport will need a way to travel aside from their own cars. How far has the charter bus industry come, and what are some of the specifics for how to take a bus?
Buses and Efficiency
Buses in shape or form have existed since the 1820s, when horse-drawn buses could deliver passengers across England. By the 1830s, early steam-powered buses were in operation in English cities, and today, buses have become the fuel-efficient vehicles many Americans take for travel or leisure. A single motorcoach or charter bus is healthy for traffic flow and for air pollution alike. This is because a single full bus may remove as many as 55 cars from the road, which clears up a lot of space on the road and also eliminates the emissions from all those cars. Not only that, but a charter bus or motorcoach is a fuel efficient vehicle in its own right. They emit the least carbon dioxide per passenger mile driven than any other mode of transportation, and motorcoaches are capable of 206.6 passenger miles per gallon. This compares favorably to the 27 or so passenger miles per gallon of a regular car. The industry is a massive one, and Americans nearly anywhere can find a bus terminal for their transportation needs. All companies for bus travel have a combined fleet of around 33,400 vehicles for chartered trips, tourism, sight seeing, airport transport, and more.
Buses for Tourists
Tourism is a major part of some local economies, and a charter bus, in turn, helps support tourism. A group of tourists are unlikely to have their personal transport with them, such as cars or motorcycles, so instead tourists will travel on board a motorcoach. This can conveniently keep the group together on board a single vehicle, and such a bus can be quite comfortable. Many motorcoaches and chartered buses may have heating or air conditioning on board, WiFi services, a bathroom, padded seats, and possibly even viewing screens for movies or other entertainment on long drives. Tourists may be impressed with all these features, and once they disembark from the bus, they can spend the night in a local community. There, tourists will infuse money into the local economy by spending on lodging, restaurants and food, attractions, gift shops, and more. This means that an average motorcoach can generate nearly $11,660 in a local economy if it carried a full load of tourists. This makes a motorcoach an excellent investment for any tourism-based local economy.
Other Bus Uses
Buses are also useful for commuting. Some Americans choose not to use, or don’t have access to, taxis or railways, so instead, they make use of inter- and intra-city buses. Many business professionals, most often women, make use of buses to commute to and from work. And on longer business trips by bus, a traveling business professional has the opportunity to catch up on work, such as on their personal laptop. And as mentioned earlier, such buses are useful for many rural Americans who cannot easily take planes or trains to their destinations.
Buses are also useful for airports. A person taking a two-week trip somewhere is probably not going to park their car at the airport. Instead, the person may take an airport shuttle, or a small bus, to get to and from the airport. The passenger, once they know their necessary arrival times, will arrange for a shuttle bus to pick them up and take them to the airport, and the same can be done to deliver passengers back home from the airport. Sometimes, houses of worship such as churches or synagogues will have their own small buses for transporting worshipers who do not have their own wheeled transport. This is often done for elderly members of a church or synagogue.