Presenter’s Guide for the Idle Reduction and Clean School Bus Curriculum For Drivers and School Officials

The guide outlines a 45-minute workshop designed to initiate local idle reduction programs in school districts. It argues that while school buses are safer and more efficient than private cars, diesel exhaust poses significant health risks, particularly to children. The curriculum focuses on debunking myths about idling, explaining the health impacts of particulate matter, and providing implementation strategies such as policy enforcement and the use of auxiliary heaters.

• School buses provide a net benefit to air quality by replacing numerous private vehicles; replacing one school bus with 20 private vehicles would increase Carbon Dioxide emissions five times and Hydrocarbon emissions six times.
• Diesel exhaust contains over 40 toxic chemicals, with 15 identified as carcinogenic, and is estimated to be responsible for 70% of airborne cancer risk.
• Children are more susceptible to diesel exhaust than adults because their lungs are still developing and they inhale 50% more air per pound of body weight.
• Idling is detrimental to engine health, causing twice the wear on internal parts compared to driving at regular speeds and increasing maintenance costs by nearly $2,000 per year.
• Common beliefs that idling is necessary for engine warm-up or cabin temperature are myths; diesel buses typically require less than 5 minutes of warm-up, and auxiliary heaters are more fuel-efficient than idling for heat.
• Small changes in idling behavior across the U.S. fleet can have large impacts; reducing idling by just two minutes per day per bus would eliminate 319 tons of Carbon Monoxide and save 1,500,000 gallons of fuel annually.
• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's '2007 Highway Rule' aims to reduce harmful pollution from heavy-duty highway vehicles by more than 90% through the mandate of ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) and more efficient engines.

APA

Environmental and Energy Study Institute (n.d.). Presenter’s Guide for the Idle Reduction and Clean School Bus Curriculum For Drivers and School Officials. https://www.eesi.org/files/idle_reduction_guide.pdf

Chicago

Environmental and Energy Study Institute. Presenter’s Guide for the Idle Reduction and Clean School Bus Curriculum For Drivers and School Officials. n.d. https://www.eesi.org/files/idle_reduction_guide.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |title=Presenter’s Guide for the Idle Reduction and Clean School Bus Curriculum For Drivers and School Officials |url=https://www.eesi.org/files/idle_reduction_guide.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{environmentalandenergystudyinstitutendpresenters, author = {{Environmental and Energy Study Institute}}, title = {{Presenter’s Guide for the Idle Reduction and Clean School Bus Curriculum For Drivers and School Officials}}, institution = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, url = {https://www.eesi.org/files/idle_reduction_guide.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }