Environmental and Technological Advancements

2023 Motorcoach Energy Use and Emissions

  • 1 min read
An ABA report cover image for the Energy Use and Emissions: 2023 Updated Findings and Historical Comparison research released in October 2025. The top and bottom of the report cover feature a dark blue background with abstract lines representing a transportation network. The middle of the image features a light blue background with the report name in dark blue text. The ABA Foundation logo is included in the bottom middle portion of the center section.

Executive Summary

About the Report

The American Bus Association Foundation (ABAF) sponsored Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) to evaluate the environmental performance of motorcoach operations. The research compares the energy use and pollutants emitted by motorcoaches to those of other transportation modes, using the latest available information and emission rates.This study serves as a continuation of the 2019 “Updated Comparison of Energy Use & Emissions from Different Transportation Modes” report.

This report combines insights from two standalone studies into a comprehensive, updated research document. You can access the original reports here:

Key Highlights

  • Motorcoaches outperform all other transportation modes modeled in terms of passenger-miles (pass-mi) per diesel gallon equivalent (DGE)1, energy use per pass-mi, and carbon dioxide (CO₂) emitted per pass-mi.
  • On average, motorcoaches achieved 195.3 pass-mi per DGE, compared to vanpool’s 97.4 (2nd best) and ferryboat’s 7.4 (2nd worst). 
  • Motorcoaches only emit 53 grams of CO2 per pass-mi compared to vanpool’s 106 and ferryboat’s 1,392. 
  • Motorcoach ranked 5th for pollutants emitted per 1,000 pass-mi for nitrogen oxides, 4th for particulate matter under 10 microns, and 4th for particulate matter under 2.5 microns.

Citation

How to Cite This Report:
American Bus Association. (2025). Energy Use and Emissions: 2023 Updated Findings and Historical Comparison. Retrieved from https://www.buses.org/motorcoach-energy-use-and-emissions-2023-historical-comparison/.

Report Author and Sponsor:
Authored by American Bus Association and sponsored by American Bus Association Foundation.

Contact information:
For inquiries, email research@buses.org or call (202) 218-7227.

Methodology

TTI calculated and compared the pollutants emitted per passenger mile for select transportation modes against those emitted from motorcoaches, and quality assured/quality controlled (QA/QC) the data used and calculated emissions against the 2019 report.