A woman driving in a car with a convertible top

Anti-idling

Unnecessary idling wastes 3.8 million gallons of fuel per day and contributes to climate change-causing emissions and air pollution. Vehicle idling constitutes 1.6% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

Proposed procurement goals: 
  • Purchase only EV vehicles including passenger vehicles. See the Fuel Efficient Vehicles section.
  • Install anti-idling technology in existing fleet to reduce emissions in the interim while still working toward the purchase of less-polluting replacement vehicles.
Proposed policy: 
  • Develop policies that: 
    • Require vehicles to be shut off whenever idling time is expected to exceed 1 minute. Vehicles cannot be left idling when unattended. 
    • Limit engine warm-up periods to a maximum of 1 minute.
    • Limit commercial vehicles to a 5-minute idling limit municipality-wide and eliminate idling while vehicles are unoccupied.
    • Limit non-commercial vehicles to a 5-minute idling limit in signed "No Idling" zones and eliminate idling while vehicles are unoccupied. 
  • Replace aging diesel engines with lower emission or zero-emission solutions. 
  • For municipal buses: 
    • Require bus drivers to turn off the bus upon stopping at transfer stations or within 100 feet of a school and prohibit starting the bus more than 30 seconds before beginning to depart from a school or within 100 feet of a school. 
    • Prohibit idling at any location greater than 100 feet from a school for more than five consecutive minutes, or a period or periods aggregating more than 5 minutes in any one hour. 
    • Buses must not load near school air-intake systems
  • For diesel engine school buses that have not yet been replaced: 
    • Prohibit “unnecessary” idling for all school buses and personal motor vehicles within 100 feet of school grounds. 
    • When the outdoor temperature is less than 35 degrees or more than 80 degrees, school buses can idle for no more than three minutes in any 15-minute period to operate climate control when waiting to load or unload passengers. 
  • Coordinate traffic signals and/or optimize signal timing so as to minimize car idling at intersections yet maintain safe and publicly acceptable vehicle speeds.  
Case studies: 
  • Compilation of State, County, and Local Anti-Idling Regulations from the EPA
  • School Transportation NewsState School Bus Idling Rules & Regulations
  • Ann Arbor, MI’s anti-idling ordinance
  • Columbus, OH has installed anti-idling technology in its SUVs to reduce emissions while it looks for less-polluting replacement vehicles for its police department. The system automatically turns off the engine once idling exceeds a pre-programmed amount of time, and continues to power other equipment, including heat and air conditioning. RPN
  • King County, WA and Portland, OR reduce idling by purchasing hybrid trucks with battery-powered lifts. King County, Washington has purchased hybrid-electric trucks, including one with an electric-powered aerial life to cut down on vehicle idling. As a result, they saw a 30 percent fuel savings with the new hybrid trucks and performed at or above our expectations in all areas. RPN
  • Chicago, IL uses GPS fleet management systems to assist fleet managers using real-time vehicle location data to optimize routes and reduce excessive idling in an effort to reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. It also uses telematics to track the number and type of vehicles in its fleet, monitor how they’re being used, and document the amount of each vehicle’s tailpipe emissions. RPN