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.