The Connecticut and Rhode Island divisions of the third largest school bus transportation firm in the nation will pay $166,000 in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency penalties and environmental projects for excessive idling in the two states.
The settlement with Student Transportation of America announced Monday comes as EPA earlier this year cracked down on another the nation’s two largest school bus operators – First Student, Inc. and Durham School Services – for excessive idling in school zones. Connecticut pollution control laws limit vehicle idling to three minutes while Rhode Island allows five minutes.
The settlement with STA of Connecticut comes a year after EPA observed school buses idling for extended periods of time in Danbury, Naugatuck, Higganum, Stamford, and Groton as well as two locations in Rhode Island.
In addition to paying $35,000 in penalties and performing $131,000 in environmental projects, STA agreed to institute a training program for drivers, dispatchers, and managers; replace nine Connecticut school buses with better pollution controls; and install GPS units and tracking on 117 Rhode Island school buses. The company also agreed to reduce idling from its entire national bus fleet of 7,500 vehicles in 16 states.
