Dozens of Greyhound buses roll in and out of Washington, D.C. each day. Greyhound Lines Inc. is a major bus company headquartered in Texas. It owns and operates buses that carry about 16 million passengers per year, through both its Greyhound and BoltBus brands.
While they’re waiting to load and unload passengers and their bags, many of them sit idling at Union Station, in violation of the District’s environmental laws, according to D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine.
Racine and the District Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) have filed a lawsuit against the bus company, alleging Greyhound buses regularly flout the city’s three-minute idling limit, polluting the air and endangering the health of commuters and riders.
With this lawsuit, OAG is seeking to collect at least $216,000 in penalties, reimbursement for costs of the investigation, and a court order to stop Greyhound from violating the District’s air pollution control laws moving forward.
ANTI-IDLING LAW
To reduce emissions, the District adopted an air pollution control law and implemented regulations to limit vehicle idling. The anti-idling law applies to commercial vehicles — not regular passenger cars — and there are a few exceptions. If it’s below freezing, for example, the limit is five minutes.
In D.C., fines for idling violations start at $500 for the first offense, and climb to $1,000 for the second offense, $2,000 for the third, and $4,000 for offenses beyond that. These fines are much higher than in New York City where the fines range from $350 for the first offense and a maximum of $2,000 if a respondent fails to appear on their third or more violation.
Multiple offenses also work differently. In D.C. multiple offenses are calculated by the company without regard to which of their vehicles are found idling. In NYC, multiple offense are only added if the same vehicle is found to be idling multiple times.
INVESTIGATION OF GREYHOUND IDLING
Throughout 2018, a joint investigation by the Office of the Attorney General and the DOEE documented 50 Greyhound buses parked, stopped, or standing at Union Station with their engines running for longer than the three-minute legal limit, many for more than 20 minutes.
In early 2019, the Department of Environment sent 50 notices of violation to the company. Months later, the idling was still happening — inspectors documented four more violations in May and July.
The 2018 and 2019 violations come after at least three previous violations of anti-idling laws by Greyhound over the preceding three years.
IMPACTS OF IDLING VEHICLES
“We take the air quality of our city very seriously,” said DOEE Director Tommy Wells. “Respiratory issues disproportionately affect children, seniors and low-income residents. That’s why Mayor Muriel Bowser has made it a priority to enforce our anti-idling laws in the District.”
Exhaust from vehicles is the largest source of air pollution in the city, causing health problems including asthma and heart disease, and accelerating global warming. Nationally, vehicle idling wastes an estimated six billion gallons of fuel, and generates 30 million tons of carbon dioxide. That’s equal to the emissions of five million cars over the course of one year.
“Air pollution harms the health of thousands of people who live in, work in, and visit the District of Columbia—especially children, the elderly, and communities of color,” said AG Racine. “We’re working with DOEE to crack down on companies that violate the District’s environmental laws—like Greyhound—and to protect vulnerable residents who are most at risk to the harms of pollution.”
CITIZEN COMPLAINT ENFORCEMENT
Greyhound is not the only company to regularly ignore the idling law, but other offenders may be harder to catch. A list of citizen complaints for the first quarter of 2016 shows 28 reports of illegal engine idling. Of those, 21 were investigated, but no violations were discovered. Three were determined to be legal idling situations, for example, a private passenger vehicle. In three cases violations were issued.
Only one case, out of the 28, was marked “action pending.”
District residents are encouraged to report suspected violations of environmental law, including suspected violations of anti-idling regulations, to DOEE by participating in the DOEE engine idling citizen enforcement program. Residents may submit an “engine idling tip” service request and photos using the DC 311 mobile app to report and submit information about violations that will allow for civil enforcement of the regulations.
Residents, business owners, and vehicle operators can find more information about the District’s anti-idling regulations and the guidelines for participating in the engine idling citizen enforcement program on DOEE’s website at: https://doee.dc.gov/service/engine-anti-idling-law
NYC has recently launched their $1 million Billy Never Idles campaign to crack down on idlers in the city. In the last two years, NYC has seen a huge spike in idling complaints being filed by citizens because they are paid 25% of any penalties collected.
Greyhound has not released any comments on this on-going litigation.