Just saw a chart showing how much less carbon a single bus ride saves

Honestly, I was looking at a report from the city's transit site about their new electric buses. It said one full bus can take 40 cars off the road for a trip. That cuts about 1,500 pounds of CO2 for every 100 miles the bus runs compared to those cars driving alone. I found the numbers on their 'Clean Fleet' page. Tbh, I knew buses were better, but seeing the actual amount surprised me. Has anyone else seen stats from their own town that made things click?

3 comments

3 Comments

blake3023mo ago

That city report probably assumes every car on the road has a single driver. Where I live, most cars during rush hour are carpools or parents driving kids. A bus might only replace 15 of those actual vehicles. Also, those electric buses get their power from a grid that's still mostly gas and coal. Charging a huge battery overnight creates its own emissions that the report likely didn't count. The real carbon savings are way lower once you factor all that in.

jenny5803mo agoMost Upvoted

But even 15 cars is a big win, and the grid gets cleaner every year while a gas car stays dirty.

calebw501mo ago

The city report I saw actually assumed 1.2 passengers per car during peak hours, not single drivers, so that bus is replacing closer to 18 vehicles in real traffic (though @blake302 has a point about the grid mix). Even with gas and coal powering the bus overnight, the EPA says electric fleets still emit 40% less CO2 over their lifetime compared to diesel, and that gap grows as renewables replace fossil plants (which is happening faster than most people realize). So the savings aren't tiny - they're real and getting bigger every year, even if the grid isn't perfectly clean yet.