What do you think when you think of coach travel? Do you think of cheap holidays ? Do you think of noisy, cramped school trips, with everyone trying to rush for the back seats? Or do you think of long, boring, hot, motorway trips with no food, drink or entertainment, and only scheduled service station stops for comfort breaks? Well, modern coach travel has come a long way in the last ten years. Modern coaches are comfortable with air conditioning, a decent amount of leg room, hot drinks and snacks, entertainment, and even on-board toilets. Safety features are also much improved, with all coaches now being fitted with seatbelts. Coach holidays are regaining their popularity now, as the convenience and comfort levels have increased so much.
Why choose coach travel?
Whether you are simply travelling from A to B, or touring around, coach travel has a number of benefits.
1. Coach travel is cheap: Usually cheaper than a train, and certainly cheaper than flying, coaches are a great choice for those who are looking carefully at their budget.
2. A safe way to travel: Statistically, coach travel is one of the safest forms of travel now. Safety features such as seatbelts, and tough regulations for drivers have made it much safer.
3. Environmentally friendly: This is possibly the most important benefit of coach travel. The time taken by a coach is comparable to that a car will take to do a similar journey, but there are many environmental benefits of travelling by coach.
Firstly, there is the exhaust emissions. Imagine how much pollution 30 or more cars will make. It’s not a pleasant thought. A coach will make little more pollution than one of those cars, so the reduction in carbon emissions if people choose coach travel rather than car travel is huge.
Secondly, there is the fuel consumption issue. Even though a coach will use more fuel than one car, the savings on even a half-full coach over the equivalent number of cars is considerable. Fossil fuels are not unlimited, so anything we can do to conserve them helps the environment.
Thirdly, there are some areas which are being seriously damaged by the number of tourists and the cars they bring into an area. One coach will cause less impact to an area than 30 cars, and additionally it helps local economies be more efficient if they are catering to tourists who arrive in groups rather than in dribs and drabs.
Coach travel is definitely something you shouldn’t neglect, and it’s rise in popularity is testament to that fact.
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