See, for instance, Table 2.10 of the latest federal Transportation Energy Data Book (page 2-14) showing that, to transport one passenger one mile, cars are usin

See, for instance, Table 2.10 of the latest federal Transportation Energy Data Book (page 2-14) showing that, to transport one passenger one mile, cars are using less energy than buses. http://cta.ornl.gov/data/tedb31/Edition31_Chapter02.pdf http://cta.ornl.gov/data/tedb31/Edition31_Chapter02.pdf My own analysis of my local (mid-sized city) transit data from the National Transit Database, using actual gallons of fuel spent, and comparing CO2 emissions of the average passenger car, the buses are net adding CO2 to the environment. Indeed, hybrid buses are barely more efficient than traditional diesel buses. The issue isn't full buses, it's the very large number of empty buses that continue to run on non-peak hours on fixed routes. This is why I'm so optimistic about driverless cars. I think it will obviate the need for public transit because we won't be stuck with inefficient fixed route and fixed schedule service.