Motor Coach Industries Celebrates Interstate 50th Anniversary With a 'Go Green, Go Coach' Message

SCHAUMBURG, Ill., June 16 /PRNewswire/ -- It's a vehicle that often goes unnoticed for its earth-friendliness. Yet one fully occupied motor coach can take as many as 57 cars off the road, and as diesel engines change in 2007, the motor coach will be an even cleaner conveyance.

And as commuters fume over the cost of gas, Motor Coach Industries, the nation's leading manufacturer of intercity and tour coaches, thinks commuters have had their fill and are ready to get on board. With its new "Go Green. Go Coach. Go MCI." slogan that will debut during MCI's sponsorship of American Association Of State Highway and Transportation Officials' (AASHTO) 50th anniversary Interstate convoy, MCI makes its case for passengers to go eco and ride by coach.

Two MCI coaches, the current best-selling J4500 and the D-Series Commuter Coach, will be making all convoy stops (visit http://www.aashto.org/ ), and MCI representatives will be promoting MCI's message along the way. "This is an ideal time to get the word out that MCI motor coaches offer greater fuel efficiency per passenger mile than cars, planes or trains," said Tom Sorrells, MCI president and CEO. "And that's going to be all the more important as time goes on."

MCI has already made significant inroads with its Commuter Coach model. As gas prices have continued to rise, transit agencies -- including some of MCI's biggest customers -- are reporting increases in ridership of as much as 11 percent.

Many of those agencies use MCI's Commuter Coach to serve long-distance commuters, especially those facing what many call "extreme commutes" of 45 miles or more. "At current prices, car drivers who travel 100 miles a day can easily spend more than $75 a week in gasoline, not to mention tolls, parking and automobile wear and tear," said Sorrells. "Riding an MCI Commuter Coach is less expensive, and it will certainly be more pleasant."

With styling similar to its tour-and-charter cousins, the smooth-riding MCI Commuter Coach features comfortable, forward-facing seats with individual airflow controls and reading lamps. Some operators also offer laptop hookups and sophisticated entertainment systems to make the miles fly. The Commuter Coach is part of MCI's D-Series, the best-selling coach series in transportation history. Operators like it because it's highly dependable, with an exceptionally low failure rate. Many MCI coaches have more than a million miles on their odometers, and their owners retire them only because passengers want something newer.

MCI's other convoy coach, the J4500, is more luxurious, featuring the company's signature spiral entryway and a host of passenger amenities. Winner of a Good Design award, and designed with input from BMW Designworks USA, which brought many of the world's most stylish passenger cars to market, the MCI (R)J4500 model challenges the notion that buses are mere utilitarian transport. As the country's #1-selling coach, it's a familiar sight on the highway, most often in the fleets of tour and charter operators bound for sightseeing excursions, sporting events and vacation spots.

MCI's other luxury coach, the E4500, will be there as the convoy kicks off in San Francisco -- sportscaster and football legend John Madden will lend his famous "Madden Cruiser," the customized E4500 that millions of sports fans have come to associate with America's most famous bus rider.

Said Sorrells, "MCI is proud to help celebrate the U.S. Interstate highway system anniversary. As the industry leader, we've been there since the beginning, and we're an essential part of the future."

  Why go by coach *?

  -- Passenger miles per gallon of fuel is highest - 146 passenger miles per
     gallon, which is four times greater than air carrier and passenger car
     fuel efficiency.
  -- Energy intensity is the lowest - 946 BTUs per passenger mile, one-
     fourth the energy intensity of air carriers and passenger cars.
  -- Fuel consumption and energy intensity rates of motor coaches are half
     the rates of intercity passenger trains.

  *Source: American Bus Association

With headquarters in Schaumburg, Ill., MCI is the leading designer, manufacturer, and marketer of intercity coaches in the U.S. and Canada, and is the industry's leading supplier of coach related aftermarket parts for most makes and models. To learn more visit http://www.mcicoach.com/ .