Located in Erie, PA, Couch USA owns and operates over 20 local companies in North America that operate scheduled bus routes, motorcoach tours, charters, and city sightseeing tours that cover three geographic areas: the Northeast and North Central regions of the U.S. and Canada.
These local companies are each independently managed and operated to meet the specific needs of their local communities. In the Northeast, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania are served through commuter and local bus services, Newark Airport express shuttle services, megabus services, and double-decker sightseeing bus tours.
Coach USA is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group and plans to acquire two new 2010 H3-45 model motorcoaches manufactured by Prevost Car, Inc. of South Plainfield, New Jersey to replace older models in its fleet.
Coach USA is helping to preserve the environment around us and making bus travel the best alternative and green form of transportation by finding ways to limit the emissions of their fleet and conserving energy and water in their offices.
Brown Coach in Amsterdam, New York, is a full-service transportation organization that offers charter service, group tours, pre-planned individual and group vacations, and contract school transportation and bus charter services. The organization operates a fleet of 21 deluxe motorcoaches predominately in the northeastern U.S., although they are licensed in all 48 continental states and portions of Canada.
Brown Coach is dedicated to exceeding standards in the transportation industry and enjoys professional association with the International Motorcoach Group (IMG), the American Bus Association, United Motorcoach Association, and the Bus Association of New York. Additionally, Brown Coach is an approved carrier for Inter-State Charters (Federal DOT), Intra-State Charters (NYS DOT), the U.S. Army, and the Military Traffic Management Command.
Brown Coach plans to acquire one new 2010 H3-45 model motorcoach manufactured by Prevost Car, Inc. of South Plainfield, New Jersey to replace an older model in its fleet.
Brown Coach, Inc. and its sister company, Brown Transportation, have been involved in four New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) projects including a computerized engine block heater control system, an idle reduction project, a diesel fired coolant heater pilot study involving 36 vehicles, and most recently, a hybrid electric school bus demonstration project in partnership with Schenectady City Schools and the New York Power Authority.
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Region Three
Anderson Coach and Travel is one of the most commonly known travel and transportation providers throughout the northeast with a fleet of 43 motor coaches, 45 school buses, 22 vans, two mini buses and cars and almost 230 employees.
The main focus of its services revolve around charters and excursion trips, and the majority of its work takes place in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, but Anderson Coach travels to various areas all over the eastern seaboard.
Anderson Coach and Travel also makes annual trips to several high diesel emission locations, including but not limited to: Baltimore, MD; Buffalo, NY; Boston, MA; Cleveland, OH; Columbus, OH; Chicago, IL; Cincinnati, OH; Detroit, MI; Indianapolis, IN; Louisville, KY; Newark, NJ; New York, NY; Pittsburgh, PA; Philadelphia, PA; Toledo, OH; and Washington, DC.
Anderson Coach & Travel is requesting funding for 22 2004 Series ED S 60 04 certified engine repowers, along with Omstar CARB approved fuel additive that helps improve quality and gas mileage in diesel engines.
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Region Four
ACR Coach Leasing, a privately held company established in 2002, provides contracted transportation and operational services to more than 500,000 clients in eight counties throughout Mississippi and Alabama. Services range from one-day trips and charter bookings to long-term contracts with numerous universities and professional sports teams.
Grant funds will assist with the replacement of two existing ACR motor coach vehicles. This project will allow ACR to reduce emissions by 60 percent by improving engine and idle efficiencies on approximately 400,000 miles annually.
ESCOT Bus Lines is a family owned and operated motor coach company, serving the Tampa Bay, Central and South Florida regions. ESCOT Bus Lines operates frequent charter bus trips through towns and urbanized areas in Florida and throughout other states in Region 4 and beyond.
ESCOT’s project seeks to significantly reduce emissions throughout Region 4 by replacing four existing buses within ESCOT’s fleet.
ESCOT intends to procure four new 2009 Van Hool C2045E, motorcoach vehicles. These motorcoach engines are electronically controlled to operate at maximum efficiency and operate on Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel fuel. They are also equipped with particulate trap exhaust systems and idle control to further reduce emissions.
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Region Five
Blue Lakes Charters and Tours is one of the most reputable and sought after transportation providers throughout the state of Michigan. The company’s target market includes charters to and from major tourist havens in Region 5, the company’s area of operation spans EPA Regions, 1, 2, 5 and 6. Blue Lakes operates from three bus terminals in Clio and Pontiac Michigan, as well as Northwood, Ohio.
Blue Lake vehicles drive approximately 1,446, 916 miles annually and the company is seeking funds to replace six existing motor coaches with certified 2010 vehicle replacements.
The technologies that will be implemented in this project will maximize health benefits for the public by conserving diesel fuel, utilizing ultra low sulfur diesel fuel as applicable, and increasing their already long expected useful life.
Bloomington Shuttle provides shuttle bus services throughout the Midwest and currently operates a fleet of 19 motor coach buses. The company makes more than 8,500 trips to Indianapolis on an annual basis and continues to seek innovative approaches to reduce emissions, especially in areas with a high population density. Funds from the Clean Diesel program will be used to assist Bloomington Shuttle Service with the purchase of two replacement motor coaches.
Vehicle replacements and idling reduction technologies will greatly improve air quality where it is needed most, in areas that currently have inferior air quality, a high population density, and receive disproportionate quantity of air pollution from diesel fleets
Voigt’s Bus Service, Inc. operates a fleet of 30 motor coaches, 40 school buses, five minibuses and six vans. Voigt’s primary area of operation encompasses the midwestern states of Wisconsin and Minnesota, including frequent service to high diesel emission locations as St. Paul and Minneapolis, MN.
Voigt’s Bus Service possesses more than 60 years of industry expertise and is well poised to ensure continued commitment to diesel emission reduction.
The company is seeking funds to replace two existing motor coaches with certified 2010 vehicle replacements. It also proposes to replace two school buses with 2010 models. These engines meet the EPA 2010 emissions criteria and will bring about a significant reduction in pollutants when compared to the existing fleet.
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Region Six
Hotard Coaches is one of the most commonly known travel and transportation providers in Louisiana and Mississippi. Hotard Coaches intends to procure new model motorcoaches to replace four older model coaches that do not conform to current emission standards. These new proposed motorcoaches and engines meet 2010 EPA emission requirements and are electronically controlled to operate at maximum efficiency by using Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel fuel. Furthermore, the engines are equipped with a particulate trap exhaust system and idle control to further reduce emissions.
By replacing older model motor coaches with four cleaner, energy efficient models that possess state-of-the-art pollution control features, the amount of NOx, PM, HC, CO, and CO2 will drastically decrease.
Hotard Coaches, Inc. strives to further reduce emission rates by promoting a new anti-idling practice to remind drivers about their involvement in providing healthier environmental and public protection to citizens.
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Region Seven
This is one of the largest transit companies in the Midwest with a fleet of 175 coaches, 15 mini coaches, 20 school buses, and 16 vans. They serve approximately two million charter and 67,000 intercity fixed route passengers each year. Arrow Stage Lines’ fleets travel through Nebraska to various destinations that have high emissions levels from diesel engines in Region 7 specifically, but also cross other regions including: Omaha, Norfolk, Lincoln and Grand Island, NE; Topeka, KS; Denver, CO; Las Vegas, NV; Kansas City, MO; as well as the five Missouri nonattainment counties.
Arrow is proposing to procure six (6) new MCI D4505 motorcoaches manufactured by Motor Coach Industries (MCI) of Pembina, North Dakota, as well as nine (9) 2011 Saf-T-Liner HDX 141YS school buses to replace older, less efficient vehicles in their fleet.
Established in 1954, Hawkeye Stages boasts a fleet of 30 motorcoaches. They serve approximately 135,000 passengers, traveling more than one million miles each year. Hawkeye Stages primarily travels the state of Iowa, including but not limited to the following cities: Decorah, Waterloo, Fort Dodge, Marshalltown, and DesMoines. Many of these areas are high-population areas and, as such, have poor air quality.
Hawkeye is proposing to replace three of their current motorcoaches with new Prevost H3-45 models. These certified vehicle replacements proposed are equipped with idling reduction and fuel efficiency technologies that will greatly conserve diesel fuel and improve air quality where it is needed most.
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Region Eight
Ryan’s Express is one of the most commonly known travel and transportation providers throughout the west with a fleet of 128 motorcoaches and almost 400 employees. The main focus of their services revolves around charters to and from major tourist havens, and the majority of their work takes place in Nevada, Utah, and California.
Ryan’s Express does, however, make annual trips to several high diesel emission locations, including the San Francisco Bay Area, Las Vegas, Los Angeles/Long Beach, Phoenix, Tucson, Riverside, Sacramento, San Diego, Anaheim/Santa Ana, El Paso, Denver, Salt Lake City, New Orleans, Dallas/Ft. Worth/Arlington, San Antonio, and Seattle. Emissions from diesel engines are a primary source of air pollution in these regions.
Ryan’s Express formulated a plan to make a significant reduction in diesel emissions by replacing eleven older model motorcoaches with newer, environmentally-friendly models, which will meet Region 8 and 9’s established air quality priorities, as well as those of the Rocky Mountain Clean Diesel and West Coast Collaboratives.
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Region Nine
Founded in 2003, Celebrity Coaches operates frequent tour and charter bus trips through urbanized areas in Regions eight and nine, including the San Francisco Bay Area, Las Vegas, Los Angeles/Long Beach, Phoenix, Tucson, Riverside, Sacramento, San Diego, Anaheim/Santa Ana, Denver, and Salt Lake.
Celebrity Coaches already utilizes four “green” coaches acquired from ABC Companies of Las Vegas, Nevada that have a unique exhaust system installed to reduce particle emissions from running diesel fuel.
Celebrity Coaches will further reduce emission rates by promoting a new anti-idling practice to remind drivers about their involvement in providing healthier environmental and public protection to citizens. Regular practice and idling restrictions should significantly exceed compliance rates and improve projected outcomes.
Headquartered in Santa Fe, New Mexico, All Aboard America provides transit services in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, including the urban areas of Los Angeles, CA; San Francisco, CA; Phoenix, AZ; Las Vegan, NV; Albuquerque, NM; and Denver, CO.
All Aboard America provides charter, tour, commuter, park-n-ride and line haul intercity fixed route services. Their fleet of 44 motorcoaches and six (6) mini vans cover approximately three (3) million miles each year, carrying more than 300,000 passengers.
All Aboard America will be replacing one older motorcoach model with a more efficient, new vehicle.
This project will advance Region nine’s goals and priorities by achieving greenhouse gas reductions and diesel criteria pollutant reductions (particulate matter and/or nitrogen oxide reductions), and reduce emissions along interstates in the states and major metropolitan cities and corridors listed above.
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