Greyhound trumps advanced technology

I was just on the blog of my neighbor Lewis (yes, he actually lives next door to me and is an has a bike advocacy blog ... small world, I know) and came across the above graph. While, certainly, the Toyota Prius has some far more advanced technology than your average transit bus, the bus is the far more environmentally friendly option.

Unfortunately, as anyone who's recently taken a cross-country bus will tell you, it's not always the most comfortable experience. Planes are far faster, cars allow for more control, and buses might contain a different class of patron than most suited business travellers are used to. So buses are neglected entirely by environmental writers, it seems, in favor of promoting green options that are more comfortable.

As the above graph shows, even a half-full bus uses less than half of the fuel per passenger as a plane. My environmental innovation for the day would be to posh up the bus system a bit, increase fares by a fraction, and make buses actually comfortable for long-distance travel while still having them be one of the greenest ways to travel.

As air travel becomes more and more inconvenient (and expensive), travellers are going to be looking for new and better ways to get from place to place.

Thanks to Lewis for his great work at ImagineNoCars.