Ask the Tour Operator - Motorcoach Sizes
A discussion about smaller group sizes, featured in last week's Tuesday, prompted tour operator Paul Nakamoto of Gray Line of San Francisco, San Jose & Monterey/Super Sightseeing to provide insight from another perspective: the size of the motorcoach.
"Almost every coach company in San Francisco is swapping out its fleet for the 38- or 41-seat Temsa Coach, manufactured in Turkey," Nakamoto said. "Our company
has acquired three this year with hopes to secure two more. I first saw them at Travel Exchange and even drove one in the convention center parking lot. It's a mid-sized coach with full-sized coach luxury. "This coach is more economical because it has two axels versus three, and the fuel mileage is unbelievable. We charge considerably less for a mid-sized coach than a full-sized coach, and this coach is a great over-the-road vehicle.
"Almost every coach company in San Francisco is using the Temsa because we can take it into Muir Woods. And this coach is legal to drive down Hwy. 1 through Big Sur because it's only 35 feet in length versus a standard 45-foot coach."
So, how are motorcoach companies dealing with tour operators with smaller groups? "They're operating smaller coaches at a lesser rate."
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