Project Background
Research indicates that Canadian motorists idle their vehicles an average of five to ten minutes a day. Idling is a health risk, wastes fuel and money, contributes unnecessarily to engine wear, and generates needless greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. If every driver of a light-duty vehicle in Canada avoided idling for just five minutes a day, we would collectively save 1.8 million litres per day of fuel, $1.7 million in fuel costs everyday, 4500 tonnes of GHG emissions daily, and 8 tonnes of smog daily.
Changing people’s habits is fundamental to the success of this initiative. It is individual action that will make the greatest impact on this collective problem. Idling is also a gateway issue – once people begin to change their driving habits, they may become more aware of and open to further actions to address air quality and climate change.
The Provincial Idle-Reduction Initiative supports action in three areas:
- Public Awareness and Action through the Youth Climate Leadership Alliance, and in the summer of 2008, an Idle-Free Ambassador program.
- School Transportation Emission Reduction through HASTE BC, the Hub for Action on School Transportation Emissions.
- Government Leadership and Commitment through idle-free sign distribution, and guidelines for fleet operations.
June 2009
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