MPG equivalent question?????

[Happy Valley]

If 5 people resolve to commute in the same vehicle from point A to point B and that vehicle gets 20 MPG.........is that the same thing as 5 people getting from A to B riding MBs???? (for the sake of argument let's assume the MBs average 100 MPG)

[arceeguy]

Yup - that's the magic of buses and van pools.

What about two up on a small motorcycle?

[ibdennyak]

Yup - that's the magic of buses and van pools.

What about two up on a small motorcycle?

Agreed.............until the bus doesn't want to go where I want to go. Guess there is the option of bus with a bike rack.

[arceeguy]

Best efficiency is with a Charter bus. Public bus efficiency is debatable. Certainly worthwhile during peak usage, but what about non-peak times when they run around town with only a couple of riders.........

Same goes for subways and trains. Excellent when packed with passengers, wasteful when runnign around near empty.

Does any public transportation in the US run without subsidies?

[Happy Valley]

So, any other equivalents in this equation? What about emissions?

[give me vtec]

So, any other equivalents in this equation? What about emissions?

our buses run on cng... not much exhaust from them. HUGE improvement over diesel.

[augidog]

i've "done the math" in my head sometimes when i see listed MPG's for newer cars & trucks. i think this is a good question, another point of view alright.

seems to me that if a (newer) car or truck is fully-laden with cargo or people, and it meets its' declared mileage, it blows most MB's away. but you rarely see a car or truck used to its' full-efficiency...same thing with mass-transit, great when used detrimental when empty..."subsidies" are a political issue i know, but i bet they've had a huge negative impact on mass-trans overall efficiency numbers.

imo, our vehicles are not necessarily "greener" but instead a "more-sensible" way for one person to get somewhere.

my "green door" thinking is:
MB's will have to stay "at-least-as-green" (read: efficient) as other modes to remain "more-sensible" in societys' eye...but this bleeds over into another point for another thread.

[ibdennyak]

Good point Augie.....loaded vs unloaded. By nature, an MB with rider is going to be more efficient than an SUV with one passenger. If the SUV is running at capacity, this may not be true. Kind of like a fully loaded train is more efficient per pound than any other method of land transportation. Of course convenience (the train may not stop where I want to get off) parking footprint, and various other factors enter into it. Sensible is a good word. A MB isn't going to be the IDEAL transportation in ALL circumstances, but probably is in its niche. Don't need a 747 to pick up a pack of smokes (if you still smoke).