Last month I was in a meeting and another attendee mentioned having just finished a book about the four things we need to do to address climate change. They are – stop flying, eat plant-based, go car-free and have one less child.
Seeing as how I don’t want to give back my youngest child, over the next few weeks I kept thinking about the no flying directive. I fly at least once a month to perform my duties as a U.S. Coast Guard reservist. I can’t drive because five hours is my driving limit. For the last five years, I’ve been traveling to Virginia which is a more than an eight-hour drive. I can’t take the train, because I couldn’t accommodate the once a day schedule and travel time with my civilian job.
Recently I was re-assigned to Detroit. Driving is still not an option, but suddenly I was confronted by the fact that a mode of transportation other than flying could work. I got online and lo and behold, both Greyhound Bus Lines and Amtrak go to Detroit several times a day. I decided I would walk the walk and forego flying for one of these other options.
I decided to take the bus because it offered an overnight trip and I figured I could sleep and not lose time at home or in the office. Admittedly, I was pretty nervous about the whole endeavor. I told just about everyone I saw that I was taking the bus to Cleveland and then on to Detroit and then home from Detroit. It has been years since I used to take Bonanza from New York to Providence to visit my parents. My last bus experience was about four years ago when I took the bus to Philadelphia and swore I would never do it again because I got motion sickness and spent the whole ride praying I wouldn’t throw up. But, here I was, ready to take the bus again, and this time for an 8+ hour ride to Cleveland and then a 14-plus hour ride home a few days later.
I was ready with my Tylenol PM to help me get some sleep on the first leg so I could make it through the next work day productively. I also gave a lot of thought as to how to pack so I didn’t have to drag a lot with me and could safely stow my belongings. And then it was Monday night and I was on the LIRR heading to Penn Station. The walk to Port Authority was easy enough and I got in line for the 10:15 p.m. bus to Cleveland.
I boarded and sat near the front to minimize any potential motion sickness. I took my sleep aid and settled in. A woman took the seat next to me and I worried I’d be cramped and not able to sleep. That didn’t last long as I was asleep before we got out of the tunnel.
I won’t try to tell you it was the best night’s sleep I’ve had recently, but it certainly wasn’t the worst. My neck pillow did its job and my down coat kept me cozy. I don’t even remember when or where we made a stop. We got to Cleveland early and I headed to the office. The bathroom worked for cleaning up and getting changed and no one would have known I hadn’t just flown or driven in from home.
The return trip from Detroit was a little less smooth. We left late and were delayed by some weather slowdowns. We also had a stopover in Cleveland I didn’t expect. Luckily it was early enough so I was still able to get to sleep by 11 p.m. and slept reasonably well until we made a stop around 5 a.m.
According to a National Geographic comparison of modes of travel from New York to Toronto – comparable to New York to Detroit – flying is obviously the fastest, followed by car, then the bus, and lastly the train, being the slowest. In terms of energy efficiency, the bus is the most energy-efficient mode of travel on this route (excluding electric car) at 24 passenger miles per gallon compared to 75.3 for a plane, 80.7 for a car and 84.3 for the train in part because the route is determined by where the rail lines are. Passenger miles per gallon are determined by multiplying energy intensity – the energy in gasoline-equivalent needed for the travel mode – by the average number of passengers transported by the mode. Efficiency is dependent on journey length and increases with distance traveled. Occupancy and vehicle design also matter so one travel mode can fare better than another under different circumstances.
The bottom line, I’ll take the bus again. It was more comfortable and simpler than anything involved with flying. It was significantly cheaper. And, it is much less damaging to the environment. I still earn miles I can apply to future trips, but I don’t have to deal with getting to and from airports, checking in at airports, lack of leg room, and baggage claim.
And, I didn’t get motion sick at all.
