WASHINGTON, Oct. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Several species of penguins whose habitats are endangered by carbon dioxide emissions launched a public awareness campaign today urging travelers to go by motorcoach, the greenest travel mode by virtue of its drastically lower carbon emissions compared to airlines, trains, and personal automobile, according to several studies.
With the help of an educational eight-page booklet produced on their behalf by the American Bus Association, the penguins sent a powerful message to policy-makers titled "Save A Penguin. Take A Motorcoach." The penguins urged media to download and read the brochure on the ABA site at http://www.buses.org/files/ABAgreenbrochureV5b.pdf.
"By supporting motorcoach transportation, which gets 184 passenger miles per gallon and is the most fuel efficient way to travel, you might just help save an ice cap or two," said ABA President & CEO Peter J. Pantuso. The energy policy debate expected to dominate Congress this fall is the perfect time for Americans to make this conservation-conscious transportation choice, Pantuso added.
"Americans can make a difference in the fate of the penguin population by leaving the car at home and taking a motorcoach," Pantuso said. "Motorcoaches reduce congestion and pollution by taking more than 425 million cars off the road each year. Coaches provide the same congestion mitigation benefits as transit buses in that we have the capacity to take up to 55 cars, per coach, off the road at one time."
Motorcoaches also play a crucial role in reducing energy use and in helping America cut its dependence on foreign sources of fuel, without sacrificing amenities such as upholstered seats, personal climate controls, entertainment systems and restrooms.
"Park your car for a penguin," Pantuso concluded. "If they could talk, penguins would say, 'Think of us and take the bus. Motorcoaches are nice and don't melt our ice.'"
The American Bus Association is the trade organization of the intercity bus industry with more than 1000 motorcoach owner and tour company members in the United States and Canada. Its members operate charter, tour, regular route, airport express, special operations and contract services. Another 2,600 members are travel and tourism organizations and suppliers of bus products and services who work in partnership with the North American motorcoach industry. Visit http://www.buses.org for more information.