Coach USA was awarded United Motorcoach Association’s (UMA) Green Highway Award at UMA EXPO 2012 in Long Beach, Calif., on Feb. 10, at a ceremony attended by motorcoach company owners, operators and industry suppliers.

The Green Highway Award, established in 2008 and sponsored by Motor Coach Industries (MCI), recognizes companies that demonstrate organizational leadership in reducing carbon emissions.

Coach USA was honored for its green achievements that extend from its dedication to fuel conservation and idling reduction policies to its maintenance procedures, recycling programs and facilities management.

Coach USA continues to update its fleet with newer coaches featuring the latest clean-diesel engine technology and emitting near zero emissions. The company is also testing new technologies that offer 4% to 6% reductions in fuel usage and equips its fleet of 1,642 coaches and buses with GPS systems that trigger alerts through the company’s command center when idle-times are exceeded. 

Through its parent company, Stagecoach Group, Coach USA has a five-year plan to reduce its carbon footprint. Stagecoach Group has already exceeded its aim to reduce emissions by 15% within the first three years of that plan. 

Coach USA’s organization-wide environmental efforts include upgrading its facilities with energy-saving lighting fixtures and adding LED lights at its parking lots, moves that are furthering its already impressive 20% reduction in energy usage.

Chief among Coach USA’s environmental achievements is its marketing message to consumers. Coach USA explains, via its website and in communications, how motorcoaches, when filled to capacity, are on average seven times more energy-efficient than single-occupancy automobiles, releasing the least carbon dioxide per passenger mile when compared to any other mode of transportation. At its megabus.com subsidiary, ridership has steadily increased at a rate of 38% year over year.