Energy efficiency seems to be a topic that’s on everyone’s minds these days, and coach bus transportation is no exception. Since so much of our society is interconnected, when pieces aren’t running at their full potential, it bogs down the rest of the system. There are many different factors that contribute to vehicle efficiency, so read on for some interesting facts!

One common misconception is that the bigger a vehicle is, the less efficient it must be. It’s true that coach buses, for example, get much less than 27 MPG (which is what the average passenger car gets today) — but because coach buses can carry dozens of people without increasing fuel consumption, they actually average about 206 passenger miles per gallon (PMPG). You can compare this to trains, which get 92 PMPG, or commercial aircraft, which average about 44 PMPG.

Obviously this isn’t the case with some industrial vehicles today, but it does show that there are many factors that contribute to a vehicle’s efficiency. In the past, in order to be “pro-environment,” you had to be against any sort of big truck or bus. With new technology, however, the efficiency of larger vehicles is improving. Both the trucking industry and the bus industry are finding new ways to reduce their carbon foot print and become more efficient.

Once they accomplish these goals, shipping gets cheaper, travel costs get cheaper, and all of the savings trickle down. Not to mention the great boon to the environment it is to have smaller carbon footprints.

All of these changes are coming from initiatives out of the White House. The Obama administration has teamed up with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and proposed a 24% increase in fuel economy requirements. The initiative targets buses, trucks and the oil industry. Best of all? It is one of many initiatives proposed to reduce carbon pollution in response to the growing concern of global warming.