Attorney General James Stops School Bus Company from Polluting in New York City Communities

 

Hoyt Transportation Allegedly Exceeded Limits on Vehicle Idling, Leading to Air Pollution in Communities of Color

New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced a settlement with Hoyt Transportation, Inc. (Hoyt Transportation), a Bronx-based school bus company, ending its alleged practice of excessive idling at bus yards. Excessive vehicle idling causes air pollution, endangering the health and wellness of neighboring communities. As part of the settlement announced today, Hoyt Transportation will implement an extensive anti-idling training program for drivers, engage an idling manager to monitor idling behavior, and pay at least $38,850 in penalties. Funds secured from the settlement will be used to support projects to fight pollution and improve air quality in overburdened communities in New York City.

“Vehicle idling can lead to increased air pollution, which poses a serious threat to New Yorkers’ health and safety,” said Attorney General James. “School bus companies like Hoyt Transportation must do their part to protect our communities by addressing excessive idling. In our continued efforts to combat air pollution and environmental injustice, my office will always ensure companies like Hoyt Transportation honor their responsibilities to the communities they serve.”

Hoyt Transportation operates a fleet of more than 300 school buses out of four bus depots in the Bronx, all located in or near low-income communities or communities of color. Using data provided by Geotab, the fleet management system that the Department of Education (DOE) has installed on all New York City school buses, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) found that the company had repeatedly and persistently exceeded city and state idling limits at its bus yards and other locations across the city. New York state law, with certain specific exceptions, prohibits idling for more than five minutes, and New York City law prohibits idling for more than three minutes, or one minute when adjacent to a K-12 school.

Geotab data obtained by OAG show that between October 13 and December 20, 2019, one bus idled over two hours on 13 separate occasions (a total of 4986 minutes of idling) at the Hoyt Transportation bus yard located at 1271 Randall Avenue in the Hunts Point neighborhood of the Bronx. This same bus also idled 83 other times at the same yard, with an average of 16 minutes each time. The data also indicate a different bus idled 51 times at the Randall Avenue depot in December 2019, averaging 25 minutes each time. Three of these instances were also over two hours in duration.

Tailpipe emissions from cars, trucks, and buses are one of the leading sources of air pollution in New York state due to the release of smog-forming pollutants, soot, and greenhouse gases. Idling is a significant source of these emissions, with an estimated 130,000 tons of carbon dioxide emitted in New York City alone each year. New York City suffers roughly 1,400 premature deaths every year — the highest death toll in the Northeast — and pays billions in health costs due to significant pollution from the hundreds of thousands of vehicles that operate in the city.

Emissions from diesel-powered, heavy-duty vehicles like buses are particularly harmful to surrounding communities because they emit fine particulate matter that has been linked to numerous problems including asthma, cancer, heart disease, and other serious health impacts. Vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly, and those with respiratory ailments are particularly impacted. The health impacts of soot and air pollution exposure are disproportionately felt in low-income communities and communities of color in New York City. These communities have the highest truck and traffic volume and are often home to industrial facilities and bus yards located in close proximity to residential neighborhoods. The children in the high poverty areas of Central Brooklyn, the South Bronx, and Upper Manhattan are three times more likely than children in other areas of the city to be diagnosed with asthma.  

In addition to the minimum $38,850 in penalties, Hoyt Transportation will pay another $66,000 if the company does not enter into an agreement to purchase an all-electric, zero-emission school bus by May 2025.

Today’s settlement continues Attorney General James’ efforts to ensure that school bus companies do not illegally idle and pollute the air. In May 2022, the Attorney General filed a lawsuit against three New York City bus companies for causing significant air pollution in communities of color by violating city and state bus idling laws. In April 2022, she reached an agreement with Reliant Transportation, the now-defunct owner and operator of 838 school buses, following an investigation that revealed the company's unlawful idling practices.

“It has been well documented the direct effect air pollution has on communities of color in the South Bronx,” said Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson. “To learn that despite decades of enforcement, education, and awareness campaigns holding businesses accountable for compromising the health and safety of nearby residents already burdened by high rates of asthma, Hoyt Transportation is exceeding state-mandated idling limits set at 5 minutes for heavy-duty vehicles, including non-diesel and diesel trucks and buses with a gross vehicle weight of more than 8,500 pounds. Their actions have worked to further pollute communities across the Bronx — many still reeling from the effects of COVD-19 and other health disparities. I want to thank Attorney General Letitia James and her team for her advocacy and for holding Hoyt Transportation accountable.”