T2.3 Anti-idling
Work with the State and/or region to enacted legislation to minimize vehicle idling for GHG reductions, improved air quality and increased fuel efficiency. Coordinate with public agencies and private companies that transport people and materials to develop and enact internal policies that reduce idle time.
General policy
According to a recent post by Sustainable America, idling wastes 3.8 million gallons of fuel a day. (However, since the light vehicles on the road in the US now average 22 mpg, and the average driver now goes 13,400 miles a year, this is only roughly equivalent to the annual fuel use of 6,200 people. Over the 365 days in a year, this would be the equivalent of 2,263,000 people’s fuel use; since there are roughly 230 million vehicles, and drivers, on the road, this estimate would be about a 1% reduction in fuel use.)
FleetAnswers.com publishes a model municipal anti-idling policy, and the American Transportation Research Institute maintains a compendium of state and local anti-idling regulations.
A number of manufacturers are introducing start-stop technology, which uses a stronger battery and starter, as well as a number of other modifications to turn the engine off whenever the car is stopped and restart it smoothly again. This technology was first introduced in hybrids like the Prius, but is gradually spreading. (It’s used in the EcoBoost version of the Ford F150 pickup.) They save between 3% and 10% of the fuel for a conventional gasoline engine, depending on the car and how much stop and go driving one does.
School buses
The Washington Department of Ecology has a school bus anti-idling program.
Intercity Transit
In 2014, Intercity Transit estimated that its no-idling policies saved the agency $186,000 a a year by avoiding the use of 62,000 gallons of diesel.
IT’s PaceCar pledge program planned to include an anti-idling pledge, but no longer does.