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The motorcoach industry is made up of hundreds of private
companies, big and small, who are the United Sates' number-one
commercial people mover. In the U.S., more passengers travel
by motorcoach than by any other commercial mode on over 40,000
industry owned motorcoaches. In fact, more than 774 million
passengers in the U.S. traveled by coach, more than the
airlines and Amtrak combined. In fact, motorcoaches move more
passengers in two weeks than Amtrak moves in one year. This is
possible because of the vast reach and flexible nature of the
motorcoach industry. Motorcoaches do not require huge
government subsidies—it doesn't take long range planning and
billion dollar investments to build bus terminals.
Motorcoaches are a convenient and affordable way to move
groups of people, without the need to lay tracks or empty
local planners' pocketbooks.
The industry itself is composed largely of small
entrepreneurial businesses. There are more than 4,000
companies, 90 percent of which have fewer than 25 buses. These
entrepreneurial companies operate about 19,000 motorcoaches,
account for almost 40 percent of the total industry mileage,
and carry one in five passengers. More than half of motorcoach
jobs are with small businesses employing fewer than 50 people.
The industry employs 200,000 workers not including jobs in the
bus manufacturing and supplier sector. When additional
spending related to motorcoach packaged travel is factored in,
more than 12 million jobs are reliant upon motorcoach travel.
Clearly, motorcoach travel contributes significantly to
tourism revenues in local communities.
A significant part of the tourism industry, motorcoaches bring
much-needed revenue to local economies. A recent study by the
George Washington University shows that just one motorcoach
visiting one destination for one day leaves behind between
$2,500 and $5,000 in shopping, meals, taxes and more. And if
that motorcoach stays overnight, that destination receives
between $5,000 and $11,000 in spending.
Motorcoaches significantly contribute to highway safety by
lightening the highway load. Independent studies, statistics
and reviews of industry performance by numerous government
agencies consistently highlight the industry's longs-standing,
superior safety performance over the past three decades. And
fewer accidents and fewer delays mean savings that can be
counted in human lives, as well as less strain on emergency
and public health resources. Motorcoaches have the lowest
fatality rates compared with other travel modes.
They are also a pollution solution. Congestion is a serious
problem in the United State today clogging the nation's
highways, roads, and bridges, stifling productivity and
costing $78 billion in wasted time and fuel per year. Since
each motorcoach generally carries 30-50 passengers,
motorcoaches help reduce traffic by nearly 425 million cars
each year, making our highway system safer and more efficient.
Motorcoaches minimize the visual, noise and air pollution that
might otherwise be associated with up to 57 separate vehicles.
At airports, motorcoaches can help authorities meet air
quality attainment levels by moving cars away from the
terminals and transferring passengers to terminals on buses.
On the highways and in national parks, motorcoaches help
reduce congestion and improve the quality of life across
America. Motorcoaches are the most fuel-efficient way to
travel, averaging 5.5 miles per gallon of fuel while carrying
between 30-50 passengers, yielding a performance record of 160
passenger miles per gallon. Compared with motorcoaches, trains
consume three times more energy, cars consume four times more
energy, and airplanes consume more than five times more energy
per passenger mile.
Since the first motorized buses began to appear in the early
1900s, the motorcoach industry has been committed to serving
the diverse transportation and travel needs of citizens.
Motorcoaches carry troops to their military duty stations and
participate in emergency relief efforts. In the 1960s, the bus
was a symbol of the civil rights movement, and today,
political candidates rely upon the campaign bus. Motorcoaches
are the "sleeper" success story of the transportation system;
they serve every type of community, every population group in
every region of North America.
Motorcoaches are a solution to surface congestion, air and
airport congestion, mobility, access and environmental
concerns. It is the "glue" that can accelerate intermodal
integration among North America's passenger transportation
modes. Including motorcoaches in the transportation
decision-making process can deliver a low-risk, high-reward
transportation solution that can help to meet the demands of
people from all segments of society.
American Bus Association
700 13th Street, Suite 575
Washington, DC 2O005
www.buses.org
Contact us at
axceltours@axceltours.com
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