It's Greener to Travel by Coach
As one of the UK's leading escorted tour operators, we are in the business of providing our customers with the best of what Europe has to offer while considering the environmental issues of travel. Holiday destinations are often popular because of their climate, beauty, and the activities that the landscape makes possible. It is important to us that we consider both our home, working, and destination environments in all aspects of the business. We make it easy for you to experience Europe through our websites, call centre, and high street retailers. In all of our many locations, we aim to operate sustainable business practices that consider the environment and use of energy and resources.
The Facts
- With climate change in the headlines day after day, it is worth noting that, according to the Coach Tourism Council, coaches are not only safer to travel in than planes, trains, and cars, but pro-rata they use less fuel.
- While each gallon of fuel will take two car passengers about 30 miles, a gallon of coach fuel takes the same two people 200 miles.
- Coaches are seven times safer per mile than a car while a gallon of fuel will, pro-rata, take two people traveling by coach six times further than by car.
- Coach passengers do not have to pay APD (Air Passenger Duty). Another reason to go by coach and save money.
The Benefits
- Coach travel is fast, efficient, comfortable, and very economical too.
- Most importantly, you'll arrive at your destination refreshed and directly at the door of your holiday destination.
- Delays or cancellations are virtually unheard of, and journeys are always from departure point (over 400 in England, Scotland & Wales) to destination, thus eliminating the time and cost of airport transfers, etc.
- Coach travel conveniently does away with the long queuing times typical of check-in and baggage collection, and as your luggage always stays with you, this avoids the nuisance of it ever being 'lost in transit.'
- As boarding a coach is a much swifter affair than that experienced with aircraft, travelers do not need to arrive at the departure point too much before their departure time.
- Once aboard and seated in your seat, you have your own space to relax and watch the world go by.
- And with no restriction on the use of laptops or mobile phones (a few restrictions still apply, and common courtesy should always prevail).
So, while air travel continues to be more stressful than ever, and concern for its environmental impact grows, more and more travelers are turning to coach travel as a convenient, economical, and cleaner way forward.
Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
There are also a number of simple things you can do when traveling or at home to reduce the impact on the environment:
- When you've finished with your brochures, pass them on to a friend or recycle them.
- Even better, view our brochures online and tell your friends.
- Buy local produce, which reduces the carbon footprint incurred in transporting the food to a kitchen for final preparation.
- At your hotel or home, use water sparingly, take short showers instead of baths, and hang towels for drying and reuse.
- Switch lights and air conditioning off if you are not in the room and turn off your TV instead of leaving it on standby.
- Don’t carry with you packaging from goods you buy for your trip; leave it at home, then recycle as much of this as possible when you return.
Related Links
Below you will find links related to green travel issues:
- Foreign & Commonwealth Office: Know Before You Go is an ongoing travel safety campaign run by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) which encourages British people to be better prepared for their overseas trips.
- Transport Research Laboratory (TRL): Provides independent and impartial world-class research, consultancy, advice, and testing for all aspects of transport.
- The Travel Foundation: A UK charity that cares for places we love to visit.
