carbon footprint – When travelling from Columbus, OH to Parkersburg, WV, would it be more sustainable to be picked up by car or stay overnight at a hotel and go by bus? – GWC Mag

I’m planning an upcoming trip, most of which will be by plane due to how far I’m travelling. However, for the last leg of the trip between Columbus, Ohio and Parkersburg, West Virginia, I have the option of being driven by someone I know from the airport to my final destination, or taking the bus. However, the problem is that the bus leaves in the morning, and I arrive at the airport late at night. As such, I need to make the choice, do I stay at a hotel near the airport which I could walk to and then take the bus in the morning, or have the person drive me to my destination at night time?

There are many factors I have to consider when making this choice, but what I would like to know is, which of these options would be sustainable? If I stay at a hotel, I will stay at one of the ones within walking distance of the airport so that I can walk there, sleep, and then walk to the bus stop at the airport. I would go by Barons Bus which has a direct connection between the airport and my destination city, and the person who would be driving me has an old petrol car. Instinctively I feel like the bus would be the better option since I would be sharing it with other travellers and it only has to go from the airport to the city, and not both ways, but I don’t know how adding the requirement of staying overnight at a hotel changes the equation.

There is no train station in neither Parkersburg nor Columbus, so as far as I can tell these are my only options.