Overheard a bus driver in Austin explain why he never accelerates fast

I was riding the 803 bus through downtown last month and the driver was talking to a passenger about fuel efficiency. He said every hard acceleration burns 20% more gas than a smooth start. I always thought speeding up quick saved time, but he showed me his average mpg logs and it was way higher than my car. Now I ease off the pedal at every green light and my gas bill dropped $40 this month. Anyone else get a tip from a stranger that actually made sense?

3 comments

3 Comments

parker_palmer441mo ago

That bus driver sounds like a mechanic my uncle knew who swore by slow starts for saving tires.

paul_taylor211mo ago

Did the slow starts actually save him money on tires?

grantp141mo ago

Doubt it. At most you're talking about maybe a few hundred bucks over the life of a set of tires. A bus company's maintenance budget is way bigger than that, they don't care about saving pennies on rubber. The real reason they drive slow is probably just to avoid lawsuits if some kid falls over in the aisle.