CHART 17

BUSES ATTRACT RIDERS

IN THE OLDER AGE BRACKETS Age Breakdown of Intercity Person-trips made by Bus, Auto/Truck and Air in 1976

Trips of 100 miles or more in each direction

Source: U.S. Travel Data Center, 1976 National Travel

Survey

STATEMENT OF FRED G. CURREY, CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD, CONTINENTAL

TRAILWAYS

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee. My name is Fred G. Currey. I am testifying here today on behalf of Continental Trailways, the second largest motor carrier of passengers in the United States. Continental Trailways is also a member of the National Association of Motor Bus Owners and my testimony is also being presented on behalf of NAMBO.

Before I discuss the legislative initiatives of the industry, I would like to put into perspective what kind of industry we are addressing and why it is essential.

BUSES: WHO FOR AND WHAT FOR

Intercity buses are the essential mode of public transportation in the United States. Certainly other forms of transportation make significant contribution to our transportation requirements. But none serve so many people in so many locales.

Of equal importance, buses serve over 16,000 points compared to only 670 by air and 500 by train.

Thus, bus service penetrates both densely populated urban complexes and sparsely inhabited rural areas. The bus industry serves a greater cross-section of America's geography than any other mode of common carrier transportation.

Buses Lead the Way:

FIGURE 1

INTERCITY BUSES CARRY MORE PASSENGERS

THAN EITHER TRAINS OR AIRLINES -
Intercity Bus, Train and Air Passengers 1975

The bus industry serves middle America. The bus offers the only way to go for a substantial portion of America; 70 percent of intercity bus travelers have no alternate form for public transportation. Indeed, almost 20 percent of bus users would not travel by any means if bus service was not readily available. Bus transportation derives its most significant public service characteristics from the fact that it is accessible both geographically and economically to the vast majority of our population. The bus is the most flexible common carrier vehicle. It is not limited to fixed rails and train stations or airways and airports. The bus can go on any road and stops at any place where a passenger wants to get on or get off. This is essential public service. Moreover, bus transportation is not only available to the affluent. Over 43 percent of bus users earn under $10,000 and almost 85 percent earn less than $20,000.

Bus users are typically not only people with modest incomes, they also tend to fall into rigid economic classifications. Thus, 50 percent of bus riders are over 64 or under 20. They cannot respond to the economic dynasty of our society. B. What for

Although bus transportation is not primarily used for business purposes, a substantial amount of business travel is conducted on buses where alternative modes of common carrier transportation are not available. However, most bus travel is of a non-business nature. Primary users of bus transportation are students traveling to and from school and senior citizens visiting friends and family. Significant use of bus transportation is also made by persons residing in rural areas who periodically travel to urban centers for medical care, cultural needs and shopping. Another segment of bus travel is concerned with connecting services, that is bus transportation used in conjunction with other modes such as rail or air. In short, the users of intercity buses are heterogeneous. How

Bus transportation is the most convenient mode of common carrier travel. A recent survey revealed that buses are the easiest form of public transportation to use. Unquestionably, this response results from the fact that one simply does not have to travel far to board the intercity bus to anywhere in the United States. The convenience benefits both rural and urban communities. Rural com

munities especially are isolated from air and train services, but are within relatively close access to bus services. Urban communities of all sizes receive bus service, and this includes services available at suburban stations in large metropolitan areas.

Convenience of bus service must be measured in terms of the number of schedules operated, number of points with access to major hubs and relative proximity of bus stations or stops to places of origin and destination.

The relative convenience of each bus schedule, however, is many magnitudes greater than that of the other modes because each bus schedule services many more points. Moreover, buses provide a greater frequency of service to particular points.

Furthermore, there are many more conveniently located bus terminals to serve the public. Witness the fact that the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area has 21 intercity bus stations.

The consequence of more frequent service and the pervasiveness of intercity bus service is graphically displayed when we consider the service offered by bus, rail and air from our State Capitols.

FIGURE 3

BUSES LINK MORE CITIES WITH THEIR STATE CAPITALS THAN DO RAIL OR AIR Number of Points Linked With State Capitals by Bus, Air, and Rail Service in February 1977

FIGURE 3A

THE MOST FREQUENT SERVICE TO ALL STATE CAPITALS IS VIA BUS
Weekly Arrivals/Departures at State Capitals by Bus, Air, and Rail
During February 1977

Additionally, management can fashion bus schedules to suit traffic convenience. As buses do not have the adverse environmental effects of aircraft, they are not compelled to observe curfews. Furthermore, buses are not circumscribed by physical limitations intrinsic to airplanes and trains. As urban centers evolve, bus service can follow the travel requirements which result from such change; the physical plant requirements of airplanes and trains deprive them of this flexibility.

Additionally, from an operating point of view the intercity bus requires only 20 passengers per bus to make it a viable, self-paying means of transportation. Moreover, the capital cost per available seat is substantially less than that for either the train or airplane.

There is one other important dimension to the intercity bus industry; it is the fuel efficiency of the bus.

Fuel efficiency-comparisons

In simple terms, fuel efficiency means getting the most travel miles from a specified quantity of fuel used in the process. Estimates vary, but intercity buses clearly are the undisputed leaders in fuel efficiency in the transportation world. A study done for the Highway Users Federation reveals for example that intercity buses average 108 passenger miles per gallon of fuel and practically speaking, this could be raised up to 162 passenger miles per gallon with improved loads. Standard autos, in contrast, average about 37.4 passenger miles per gallon. The average and practical maximum for intercity trains, according to the study, respectively are 72 and 108 passenger miles per gallon. Comparable figures for commercial aircraft are 17.3 and 23.6.