Coach travel is more environmentally friendly than travelling by air, car and even by train, recent independent studies into carbon emissions have revealed with a journey by coach almost six times less pollutant than the equivalent journey in a plane.
The coach tourism industry has often laid claim to have the best carbon footprint but it is only now that it can truly claim that going by coach is the greenest form of transport - excluding walking or cycling!
Research in 2007 by the famous Institute for Energy and Environmental Research in Heidelberg for RDA, the International Coach Tourism Federation, showed that travelling by coach is not only space-saving and resource-saving but that coaches also use less energy than other forms of transport, making them the most eco-friendly holiday transport available for short-haul holidays.
It found that in terms of primary energy use (such as diesel, petrol and electricity) coach travel uses:
• six times less energy than planes • six times less energy than cars • two times less energy than trains
This research is similar to that carried out by the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Management for international coach operator Eurolines. It revealed that a journey to Paris by coach produces 10.6 kilos of carbon per passenger journey, compared to 52 kilos by air while a trip to Vienna was just 22 kilos by coach compared to 190.9 kilos by plane. On average the research showed the carbon footprint for coach travel as 5.58 times lower than the cost of flying.
Coach market facts
• The coach holiday market is predicted to increase by 23 per cent to be worth £2.93 billion by 2011
• Passenger numbers will rise from 8.2 million in 2006 to 8.8 million
• More than 36 million day trips per annum are by coach
• UK holiday numbers will reach an estimated 6 million
• Overseas coach customers will increase by half a million to 2.8 million
• About 5 million people travel by coach on ferries and through the Channel Tunnel each year. Another 650,000 passengers go on a coach via ferry to Ireland
• Spending on overseas coach holidays will increase by 45 per cent at current prices to reach £1.15 billion by 2011
Coach statistics
• There are just over 20,000 coaches in the United Kingdom
• Coach operators bought more than 1,000 new coaches in 2007 – an investment of more than £225 million
• New coaches cost as much as £250,000, with many costing even more
• The majority of new coaches come with air conditioning, double glazed windows, on board toilets and drop down entertainment monitors. Many have fewer seats to offer increased leg room and comfort, better than on an aircraft
• Safety: Coaches are seven times safer per mile than a car. They each get a maintenance check every day, and a full examination every four to six weeks
• Coach tourism supports 80,000 jobs in the UK economy, 38,000 of them directly in carrying
• Coach tourism contributes almost £300million to London 's economy, carrying 2.8 million visitors
Sources: Mintel 2007 Leisure report, SMMT, Confederation of Passenger Transport
Coach tour operators have a huge selection of short breaks and holidays during May and into the summer, both in the UK and to the Continent.
Theatre breaks, garden shows, sports events and themed tours are all on offer.
