Idle Monitoring, Real-Time Intervention, and Emission Reductions from Cobb County, Georgia, School Buses

Georgia Institute of Technology researchers developed an idle detection and warning notification system that features Global Positioning System-based real-time tracking and a web-based user interface. Four hundred and eighty buses in the Cobb County (Georgia) School District were equipped with the idle detection system, and the research team provided bus dispatchers with a web-based system to track vehicle activity and provide notification of idle events exceeding 5 min. The idle detection and warning notification system can differentiate idling with engine on from key-on events with engine off, an important capability that sets it apart from previous systems that only detected key-on events. Idle reductions were monitored, and emissions and fuel savings were evaluated with the Environmental Protection Agency's MOVES (Motor Vehicle Emission Simulator) model. The idle reduction that resulted from implementing the system was statistically significant-more than 6 min of idle reduction per bus per day. Greater idle reduction could be achieved with more stringent implementation of the system. The anti-idle program reduced total annual emissions of criteria pollutants (oxides of nitrogen, particulate matter, and carbon monoxide) by 1.82 tons and annual emissions of carbon dioxide by 53.3 tons. Implementation throughout the school district would conserve 6,400 gal of diesel fuel. Approximately 41,100 children riding the buses or attending schools served by the buses were positively affected by the idle reduction system.