FIGURE 4 BUSES ARE THE MOST FUEL-EFFICIENT CARRIERS OF INTERCITY PASSENGER TRAFFIC Passenger Miles 220TUA 2A TORRE 2A 23MIT A 38 OY TWOH2 Per Gallon of Fuel 3MIT & 2A HOUM 2A GVA 235UNIA SATE 2MAHT 2A Source: Highway Users Federation (May 1974) and CAB (1975). The Boeing Airplane Company has also studied the problem and has produced what are probably more refined estimates of intermodal fuel efficiency. Many of the estimates made of modal fuel efficiency ignore or gloss over operational characteristics that significantly affect results. Various modal systems do not compete in an identical pattern and to use simply the gross traffic and fuel-use statistics distorts comparisons. Train data, for example, reflect short range operations and equipment, although long distance trains have much lower efficiency. Also, most data reported for ground modes ignore various circuitry, the actual distance the equipment has to traverse to serve a city-pair. The comprehensive study by the Boeing Company corrected these deficiencies in estimating procedures and the results show that on the most accurate and comparable basis, buses are markedly more efficient than other modes, when examinations are made of system averages, or of individual city-pair markets. According to the Boeing measures, intercity buses range between 90 and 162 passenger miles per gallon at present loads. The range for autos was 25-41 passenger miles; for trains, 14-64; and 18-28 for airplanes. This implies that intercity buses are at least four times as fuel efficient as autos, five times more efficient than airplanes, and 3-6 times more fuel efficient than trains. FIGURE 5 REFINED ESTIMATES OF MODAL FUEL EFFICIENCY MAKE ALLOWANCES Boeing Estimates of Comparative Fuel Efficiency: Great Circle Passenger Miles Per Gallon - Low and High Range* 200 CROSS Boeing assumes a trip distance of 700 statute miles, 60% load factor on public modes **Class I operators Source: The Boeing Airplane Co., "Intercity Transportation Data, Energy Comparison," Seattle, 1974. FIGURE 6 BUSES ARE THE MOST FUEL-EFFICIENT PASSENGER CARRIERS IN MARKETS OF ALL TYPES AND DISTANCES Great Circle Statute Passenger Miles per Gallon* NEW YORK WASHINGTON (213 miles) VAHTIW AIR AUTO BUS TRAIN AIR AUTO BUS ATLANTA ДA HOAS Rо НОАЗ ЯОТ JAD e.ar * Midpoint of range estimates Source: The Boeing Airplane Co.; "Intercity Transportation Data, Energy Comparison," Seattle, 1974. Accordingly, the experts also agree that intercity buses are by far the most efficient users of energy among all the present day modes of land or air passenger transportation. Logic would have it, therefore, that more use should be made of intercity buses. But, to apply logic in this case is to dislodge or at least modify-long established patterns of energy use and transportation. America's enduring and intense preference for auto travel, particularly, will not be easily displaced. Then again, the effort to bring about change is needed, and could well be acclaimed by an aware public that is justifiably concerned about energy shortages and the continued availability of motor fuel supplies. A Program for fuel conservation Almost a fourth of the petroleum fuel used by automobiles is for interci travel. About 18 billion gallons per year is used for this purpose. There is opportunity to economize, significantly, on this use of fuel through encouraging more use of intercity buses in place of auto travel. For every passenger that would switch, about 15.9 gallons of fuel would be saved. FIGURE 7 OVER AN AVERAGE INTERCITY JOURNEY, A BUS WITH AN AVERAGE LOAD SAVES 316 GALLONS OF FUEL BY REPLACING NINE CARS FOR EACH PASSENGER ATTRACTED TO THE BUS, 15.9 GALLONS OF FUEL ARE SAVED If intercity buses were to attract only 1 percent of intercity auto traffic during the course of a year; the potential fuel saving amounts to 179 million gallons.1 This is enough fuel to run all intercity buses in the United States for at least 9 months. 1 One percent of intercity automobile travel amounts to 5.9 million RPM's. Diverting this amount to the intercity bus industry would increase the load factor from the present level of 46 percent to the level of 67 percent, allowing current bus mileage to remain constant. The above estimates of fuel savings are based on the average intercity ridership of 2.19 passengers per automobile. Actual diversions from automobile to bus, because of reduced bus fares, can be expected to occur more frequently from the single-occupant automobile where the difference between the auto cost vs. bus fare is greatest. Using the averages of 2.19 passengers per automobile and 10 passengers per bus, every bus can be visualized as a replacement for 9 automobiles. FIGURE 8 AN INTERCITY BUS UNDER NORMAL LOADS WILL A FULLY LOADED INTERCITY BUS IS A 11 The fuel savings discussed in this study are merely referred to as gallons of fuel saved. It is highly noteworthy, however, that the substitution of buses for automobiles not only saves gallons of fuel-gasoline-but also saves energy in that a less refined fuel-diesel-is substituted for the more highly refined fuel— gasoline. Is winning riders away from autos into more energy efficient buses a realistic goal? The answer is yes! It is no easy task, but we are confident that it can be done, through a program that provides incentives for riders to make the change, and for the bus carriers to market their services forcefully. |