The extent to which express bus routes and schedules circumvent or avoid rush hour traffic congestion, bad street and road conditions that general bus services are forced to deal with permit more efficient operation and fuel efficiency. The tendency for transportation agencies and system managers to utilize the newest and most efficient vehicles in their respective bus fleets for express routes and services would further lead to efficient use of fuel, while vehicles operating on new fuels are most likely to be put into express bus service.
The size and relative efficiency of express busses makes them candidates for conversion to, or manufacturing as state of the art fuel-efficient vehicles. Having retired its last diesel bus in January of 2011, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority (LACMTA) has successfully converted its entire bus fleet to alternative fuels. Public ownership and management of municipal bus systems permits coordinated efforts among a variety of governmental agencies, fuel producers and transportation industry to optimize the use of fuel in public transportation, as well as, promote the use of clean fuels and environmentally sound practices. By any fuel efficiency measure, express buses must be assumed to be more efficient than single occupant automobiles.
