Should I take Greyhound for my next trip?

Actually, 55 mpg times 2.2 people would be 121 passenger miles per gallon.

If you have 4 people, your Prius is better than their hypothetical bus.

 

True and I would hate to see ANY car with 2.2 people in it.

 

Traveling from NYC there actually might be 2.2 people in some of those old Lincoln Town Cars.

 

I'm surprised train travel didn't fare that well. In Canada too: fares have skyrocketed; it's mostly novelty, special occasion travellers.

 

I do not see how they can generalize trains.

If I take an Amtrak train from here to New York City, we start with diesel, I think. We then change engines in Washington DC to electric for the remainder of the trip. The passenger miles per gallon and CO2 per passenger are likely radically different for 2 segments on the same trip.

 

why suffer when most of the world doesn't care?

 

Efficiency of all modes depends on the assumed average occupancy. Airlines, for example , have increased their average occupancy tremendously in the last 15 years or so, making the estimated CO2 emissions per person-mile for commercial flights much lower.
Amtrak runs mostly diesel-electric trains on their long routes, and often has low average occupancy. But most regional trains I used in Europe were pure electric and were quite full, which would therefore have a much lower carbon footprint .
(Our electric bicycles consistently get around a 3,000 MPGe based on the measured recharging watt-hours, so if you take really SHORT trips, that is an efficient way to go!)

 

if a bus ride is your idea of fun, go for it!

 

I would expect electric with overhead feed lines would have a lower carbon footprint than the diesel-electric too.

Did Greyhound commission this study?

 

yeah, i'm not a fan of any public transportation. i guess that's why cars are so popular. but they won't get you across the ocean either.
our first trip to nyc on amtrak was such a nightmare, we drive now. and driving is a nightmare, so that tells you what amtrak was like.
and we see all the broken down busses on the side of the highway every time we go.

 

@Salamander_King, editorial quibble: take the "s" off of "greyhounds" in the title? I keep picturing a dog sled pulled by greyhounds...

 

took acela down and regional back. while acela gets priority, regional only took 20 minutes extra.

by the time you get to the train, get there, get to your destination, a car runs about the same amount of time. but you do have to know the roads and when to travel.

i'm all for public trans, but it's one of those political footballs that never gets the necessary funding.