What You Can Do
We can all play a role. By working together, we can reduce pollution from school buses making sure that school buses are not only a safe, but a very clean way for children to get to school. Below is a list of steps that members of the school community can take:
School Officials
- Establish idle reduction policies.
- Work with bus companies to ensure idle reduction policies are adopted.
- Minimize the time that children spend outside when school buses are arriving or departing
- If possible, shorten commute times for children.
- Discourage drivers from following directly behind other large vehicles, including school buses – especially if they see visible smoke being emitted.
- Deploy cleanest buses on longest routes.
- Post no-idling signs on school grounds.
- Provide a space inside the school where drivers can wait on cold days.
- Limit idling of delivery vehicles on school grounds.
- Develop educational programs for students about air pollution.
Bus Owners / Operators
- Adopt idle reduction policies.
- Educate drivers and recognize drivers that reduce idling time.
- Keep buses well maintained.
- Take steps to retrofit existing buses with pollution controls.
- Replace the oldest buses with new, clean buses.
- Discourage drivers from following directly behind other large vehicles, including school buses – especially if they see visible smoke being emitted.
- Follow idle reduction guidelines established by school officials and/or bus owners.
- When standing, turn off the school bus engine.
- On cold afternoons, stay warm inside the school building.
- Avoid driving directly behind other large vehicles, including school buses – especially if you see visible smoke being emitted.
Parents
- Talk with school officials about establishing idle reduction programs.
- Talk with school transportation providers.
- Do not idle your personal vehicle.
Students
- Talk with school officials about reducing school bus idling.
- Talk with bus drivers.
- Help school officials make and post no-idling signs.
Outreach Materials
You will need Adobe Reader to view some of the files on this page. See EPA's PDF page to learn more.
To help spread the word about the importance of idle reduction guidelines, EPA has created fact sheets:
- "Diesel Exhaust in the United States" (June 2003, EPA420-F-03-022) (PDF, 4 pages, 412K)
- "What You Should Know About Diesel Exhaust and School Bus Idling" (June 2003, EPA420-F-03-021) (PDF, 2 pages, 574K)
To help people learn about clean diesel technologies and clean fuel options, EPA has created other fact sheets:
- "Questions and Answers on Using a Diesel Oxidation Catalyst in Heavy-Duty Diesel Trucks and Buses" (June 2003, EPA420-F-03-016) (PDF, 3 pages, 100K)
- "Questions and Answers on Using a Diesel Particulate Matter Filter in Heavy-Duty Diesel Trucks and Buses" (June 2003, EPA420-F-03-017) (PDF, 4 pages, 102K)
- "Clean Fuel Options for Heavy-Duty Diesel Trucks and Buses" (June 2003, EPA420-F-03-015) (PDF, 4 pages, 104K)