Tech Bri e f FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY ADMINISTRATION

Programs of the Federal Motor Carrier 

Safety Administration (FMCSA) 

encompass a range of issues and 

disciplines, all related to motor carrier 

and bus safety and security. FMCSA's 

Office of Research and Analysis, which 

includes the Research, Technology, 

and Analysis Divisions, defines a 

"research program" as any systematic 

study directed toward fuller scientific 

discovery, knowledge, or understanding that will improve safety, and reduce 

the number and severity of commercial 

motor vehicle crashes. Similarly, a 

"technology program" is a program that 

adopts, develops, tests, and/or deploys 

innovative driver and/or vehicle best 

safety practices and technologies that 

will improve safety and reduce the 

number and severity of commercial 

motor vehicle crashes. An "analysis 

program" is defined as economic and 

environmental analyses done for the 

agency's rulemakings, as well as 

program effectiveness studies, statereported data quality initiatives, and 

special crash and other motor carrier 

safety performance-related analyses. 

A “large truck” is any truck with a 

Gross Vehicle Weight rating or Gross 

Combination Weight rating of 10,001 

pounds or greater. 

Currently, FMCSAs Analysis, Research, 

and Technology Divisions are 

conducting programs in order to 

produce safer drivers, improve safety of 

commercial motor vehicles, produce 

safer carriers, advance safety through 

information-based initiatives, and 

improve security through safety 

initiatives. The study described in this 

Tech Brief was designed and developed 

to support the strategic objective to 

produce safer carriers. The primary 

goals of this initiative are to support 

efforts to improve carrier safety by 

applying safety management principles, 

compiling best management practices, 

communicating best practices, and 

supporting the Agency's enforcement of 

carrier-related regulations. 

Office of Research and Analysis 

400 Virginia Ave., SW 

Suite 600 

Washington, DC 20024
 

FMCSA Contact: Albert Alvarez, MC-RRR, 202-385-2387 

Operational Differences and Similarities 

among the Motorcoach, School Bus, 

and Trucking Industries 

Background 

As part of the Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Program, the effort 

summarized in this tech brief collected and compared commercial motor vehicle 

operational measures such as the number of U.S. operators, fleet sizes, crash 

statistics, vehicle-miles of travel, and business models − information which will 

serve as a foundation for regulatory programs. Many sources were used to compile 

data for this synthesis, including FMCSA databases, industry association 

publications, industry trade magazines, Internet searches, and documents from the 

Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau. The literature review was 

supplemented by interviews with staff at several organizations, who were able to 

provide additional data not readily available to the public. The key information 

collected from both the literature review and the interviews includes: 

 Industry Size and Extent − A description of the number of carriers and 

vehicles in the industry by fleet size, geographic area, and industry 

subsegments. 

 Safety − Historical fatality, injury, and crash statistics for the industry. 

 Economy and Finances − Industry business statistics, such as sources of 

revenues, driver compensation, driver regulations, operating costs, 

vehicle sales, etc. 

Whenever possible, statistics (such as interstate and intrastate, and for-hire and 

private) were presented for the entire national company and vehicle population. 

However, data was most readily available from interstate and for-hire segments of 

the industries. As a result, the synthesis report is not meant to be a statistically 

defensible national survey; national statistics that can be disaggregated by industry 

segment are generally not available, and the aggregation of component data from 

various industry sources is not necessarily a valid methodological approach. The 

synthesis report identified the data limitations and concluded with a section 

describing gaps in the data. 

Industry Comparisons 

Carriers by Size 

The Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) database, which 

includes all interstate but only selected intrastate firms, was a resource in size 

assessment of the three industries presented in this synthesis. According to 

MCMIS, of the motorcoach, school bus and trucking industries, trucking is the 

largest, with 612,000 firms owning or operating over 3.5 million trucks and 
tractors. The comparative sizes of the three industries are shown in Table 1. All three industries are 

dominated by firms that own or operate less than a half-dozen vehicles. When comparing the school 

bus companies registered in MCMIS against national estimates of total firms, only about 20 percent 

of school bus contractors appear to be registered in MCMIS. 

Table 1: Comparison of firm and fleet sizes 

Industry Number of Firms Number of Vehicles 

Owned/Operated 

Motorcoach 8,568 75,595 

School Bus 3,600 65,221 

Truck 612,771 3,505,954 

Note: This table excludes 595 firms with equal-sized bus and trucking operations, 82 bus firms with

qual-sized motorcoach and school bus operations, and 2,157 bus firms with no vehicle information. 

Source: FMCSA MCMIS, 2000. 

Safety 

Fatalities, injuries, and crashes for the three industries were compared. The fatality data are regarded 

as representing true population totals (all interstate and intrastate, for-hire, and private), and the 

injury and crash data are national estimates based on representative samples. The data on 

motorcoach injuries and crashes include transit buses, which are not regulated by FMCSA. The data 

on school bus injuries include those owned by school bus districts, school bus contractors, and other 

vehicles used as school buses. Further review of the Fatality Analysis Reporting System and General 

Estimates System files may provide additional refinement of this data. Because the number of 

fatalities for the motorcoach and school bus industries is relatively small compared to the number of 

fatalities for the trucking industry, the motorcoach and school bus indices appear more sensitive to 

year-to-year fluctuations when graphed. 

Revenues and Expenses 

The synthesis report compared operating revenues and expenses for the motorcoach and trucking 

industries, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) datasets from 1994 to 2002. Only 

about one-third of school bus operations are handled by private companies, and data on these 

companies are not collected by BTS or other organizations. Consequently, data for only one school 

bus company could be obtained, based on tax filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

The average operating ratio of the nation’s largest motorcoach companies from 1994 to 2001 was 98 

percent, and that of the largest trucking operators was 95 percent. This implies that trucking 

operations are slightly more profitable than motorcoach operations. Between 1993 and 1997, the 

average operating ratio of the single bus operator was 84 percent. However, this statistic does not 

represent the industry average. 

Driver Qualifications for Employment 

An analysis for the employment qualifications for motorcoach, school bus, and truck drivers was 

examined. All three types of drivers generally must obtain a Commercial Driver’s License, be 21 

years of age, pass a physical examination if transporting passengers or goods across State lines, 

submit to random drug and alcohol testing, speak English well enough to read road signs, pass an 

FMCSA written examination, and have no criminal record involving drunk driving, drug use, or hitand-run driving. 
Sources of Revenues 

The sources of revenues for each of the three industries were examined as well. The trucking data 

only included for-hire trucking companies with greater than $3 million in annual revenue. Of the 

three, the school bus industry depends the most heavily on a single source of revenue (public school 

contracts). 

Driver Compensation 

As shown in Table 2, truck drivers on average earn a higher hourly wage than both school bus drivers 

and motorcoach drivers. The school bus data include district drivers as well as contractor drivers. 

Driver Duties 

The typical duties of motorcoach, school bus, and truck drivers were compared. All three types of 

drivers are responsible for inspecting their vehicle before starting off for the day’s run, and for 

remaining alert in order to prevent crashes while driving. Some truck drivers perform customer 

service duties, such as taking orders, collecting payments, selling goods, or soliciting new orders. 

Motorcoach drivers often must interact with customers and tour guides in order to help make the trip 

more comfortable and informative, and school bus drivers must maintain order and enforce discipline 

on the bus. School bus drivers have a particular responsibility for passenger safety, as young 

children are often not yet trained to exercise caution in and around moving vehicles. 

Operating Costs per Mile 

Operating costs per mile were not available for the school bus industry. Table 3 shows that operating 

costs per mile for the trucking industry are about $0.17 higher than those for the motorcoach 

industry. 

Table 2: Comparison of driver compensation. 

Note: Wages are national medians except for the upper school bus driver compensation limit,

which is an average. 

Source: American Bus Association, Destinations magazine, “2001 Industry Survey”; Bureau of

Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2004–2005 Edition; School Bus Fleet, “2003

Contractor Survey.” 

Driver Hourly Wage Rates 

Motorcoach $10.64 − $15.15 

School Bus $10.77 − $12.98 

Truck $11.48 − $15.97 

Driver Operating Costs per Mile 

Motorcoach $1.90 

School Bus Further analysis required 

Truck $2.07 

Table 3: Comparison of operating costs per mile 

Source: American Bus Association, Destinations magazine, “2001 Industry Survey”; American

Trucking Associations, Inc., American Trucking Trends 2003 
Availability: The synthesis report
 

"Operational Differences and
 

Similarities among the Motorcoach,
 

School Bus, and Trucking
 

Industries” is available at the
 

Transportation Research Board and
 

can be found at www.trb.org.
 

Key Words: Bus, CMV, Carrier
 

Safety, Commercial Motor Vehicle,
 

Motorcoach, Truck
 

Notice: This Tech Brief is
 

disseminated under the
 

sponsorship of the Department of
 

Transportation in the interest of
 

information exchange. The Tech
 

Brief provides a synopsis of the
 

study’s final publication. The Tech
 

Brief does not establish policies or
 

regulations, nor does it imply
 

USDOT endorsement of the
 

conclusions or recommendations.
 

The U.S. Government assumes no
 

liability for its contents or their use.
 

Web Site: FMCSA Tech and
 

Analysis Briefs may be accessed at
 

www.fmcsa.dot.gov.
 

Technical Writer: 

Michael Lang
 

C2 Technologies, Inc.
 

June 2006 

Publication No. FMCSA-RRR-06-010 

Vehicle Sales 

Annual sales of motorcoaches, school buses, and large trucks increased during the 

1990s, then began to decline toward the end of the decade. Sales of large trucks 

number in the hundreds of thousands, far exceeding sales of the other two vehicle 

types. In 2002, large truck sales outnumbered school bus sales 10:1, and 

motorcoach sales 168:1. 

Trends in Revenue 

Revenue data are not available for the motorcoach industry, but are available for 

public school bus contractors and trucking operators with at least $3 million in 

annual revenue, except household good carriers. The information presented in the 

synthesis report show that since 1991, public school districts have increased their 

spending on bus services by 26 percent in inflation-adjusted dollars. Meanwhile, 

large for-hire trucking firms saw their annual revenues fall during the mid-1990s, 

then rise 13 percent above their 1991 level. 

Passenger- and Ton-Miles 

Because of differences in reporting methods, trends in passenger- and ton-miles 

across the three industries are not readily comparable. Data on motorcoach 

passenger-miles are available from different sources before and after 2000, while 

school bus data are reported in terms of the number of public students transported 

only. For the years 1991 − 2000, the number of students transported increased 13 

percent, and truck ton-miles increased 29 percent. 

Note that transit buses are not included in this synthesis. Comprehensive statistics on the transit industry are 

available from the Federal Transit Administration’s National Transit Database, at www.ntdprogram.com.