Idle Reduction and Clean School Bus Curriculum

For Drivers and School Officials

The Utah Clean Cities Program, National Energy Foundation, and Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) have developed a curriculum to help school officials and bus drivers reduce unnecessary school bus idling. Idle reduction programs using this curriculum have achieved lasting results including:

• Fewer hours of idling — up to 100 fewer hours per bus per year
• Fuel savings — more than 100 gallons per bus per year
• Reduced pollution — approximately 20 percent fewer pollutants
• Reduced greenhouse gases — 5-10 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions

The curriculum is free and includes everything needed to initiate a school bus idle reduction program. Click below to download the materials:

Idle Reduction and Clean School Bus Curriculum Package (PowerPoint File)

Idle Reduction and Clean School Bus Presenter’s Guide (PDF File)

Idle reduction and other fuel and pollution saving and strategies are especially important for school buses. More than 400,000 school buses transport more than 25 million school children (about half of all primary and secondary students) on a typical school day according to School Transportation News. School officials and bus drivers are important partners in efforts to avoid and reduce unnecessary idling.

School children are potentially exposed to diesel exhaust both when riding the bus and when gathering near bus loading areas. Children are especially vulnerable to health impacts of diesel exhaust, according to the Environmental Protection Agency and numerous public health studies. Children, on average, inhale more pollutants per unit of body mass which creates the equivalent of much higher pollutant concentrations in adults.