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
Bus Owners / Operators
Bus Drivers
Parents
Students
Outreach Materials

School Officials

• Establish anti-idling policies.
• Work with bus companies to ensure anti-idling 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.
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Bus Owners / Operators

• Adopt anti-idling 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.

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Bus Drivers

• Follow anti-idling 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.
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Parents

• Talk with school officials about establishing anti-idling programs.
• Talk with school transportation providers.
• Don't idle your personal vehicle.
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Students

• Talk with school officials about reducing school bus idling.
• Talk with bus drivers.
• Help school officials make and post no-idling signs.
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Outreach Materials

• To help spread the word about the importance of anti-idling guidelines, EPA has created fact sheets:
    "Diesel Exhaust in the United States", (June 2003, EPA420-F-03-022) [ 412K PDF ], and
    "What You Should Know About Diesel Exhaust and School Bus Idling", (June 2003, EPA420-F-03-021) [ 574K PDF ].

• 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) [ 100K PDF ],
    "Questions and Answers on Using a Diesel Particulate Matter Filter in Heavy-Duty Diesel Trucks and Buses", (June 2003, EPA420-F-03-017) [ 102K PDF ], and
    "Clean Fuel Options for Heavy-Duty Diesel Trucks and Buses", (June 2003, EPA420-F-03-015) [ 104K PDF ],
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