Save Your Planet and Your Students Health
Save Your Planet
Idling school buses can pollute air in and around the bus. Exhaust from buses can also enter school buildings through air intakes, doors, and open windows. Diesel bus exhaust from excessive idling can be a health concern.
A recent EPA study found that the emission pulse measured after the school bus is restarted contains less carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and other pollutants than if the school bus idled continuously over a 10-minute period. The analysis indicated that continuous idling for more than three minutes emitted more fine particle (soot) emissions than at restart.
Many U.S. states have instituted vehicle idling laws, which limits vehicle idling to no more than five minutes in some states and three minutes in others. States supporting this law includes Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, D.C., Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Virginia, and Texas
Save Your Students Health
Children breathe 50 percent more air per pound of body weight compared to adults. Diesel exhaust contains small particles, known as fine particulate matter, as well as smog-forming and toxic air pollutants. Reducing exposure to these pollutants will dramatically reduce the frequency of childhood illnesses.
Save Your Money
Idling buses waste fuel and money. When idling, a typical school bus engine burns approximately half a gallon of fuel per hour. School districts that eliminate unnecessary idling can save significant dollars in fuel costs each year.
Save Your Fleet
School bus engines do not need to idle more than a few minutes to warm up. In fact, extended idling causes engine damage. Engine manufacturers generally recommend no more than three to five minutes of idling.
Green Practices
- Institute an engine idle time policy. Some states limit idling to three minutes, others five minutes and some permit a maximum of ten minutes.
- Implement a GPS tracking system that will send alerts when a district configured threshold is exceeded and provide engine idle time reports on-demand for selected buses or the entire fleet.
- Reward drivers who consistently have low idle times. Discipline those who disregard the policy. Reinforce that conformance is mandatory.
- Optimize your routes on a routine basis to eliminate unused or inefficient runs. Run GPS-driven planned vs. actual reports that will showcase opportunities for improvement. Check bus ridership and consolidate runs with low ridership numbers.
Every unnecessary school bus mile driven is hard on your environment, budget, fleet and students health.
