Team 4 Investigates Idling Port Authority Buses

POSTED: 5:34 pm EDT July 28, 2008

UPDATED: 6:30 pm EDT July 28, 2008

PITTSBURGH -- The following is a transcript of a report by Team 4 investigative reporter Jim Parsons that first aired July 28, 2008, on WTAE Channel 4 Action News at 5 p.m.

We're all feeling the squeeze from higher fuel prices, but not quite like the Port Authority.

The agency will spend $16 million more in the next fiscal year on diesel than it did this year. That makes every wasted drop of fuel relevant -- and yet, our Team 4 investigation found waste still happening.

On a comfortable day -- not too hot, not too cold -- you won't find many car owners running their engines when they're not driving.

"Are you waiting on somebody here?" Parsons asked.

"Waiting for my daughter. Couple of minutes," said car owner Bill Runco.

"Why don't you have your engine running? Why are you sitting here with your engine off?" Parsons said.

"I always do. Why waste gas? Costs a lot of money to have your engine running," Runco said.

Three miles to the gallon is the best that Port Authority buses get around town, so you can imagine how much diesel is wasted if you let these hogs just sit and idle. But that is exactly what Team 4 discovered, over and over again.

On a cool summer day at the Port Authority's East Liberty garage, we observed Bus 1548 sitting idle and running its engine for 12 minutes before heading out on its route. The temperature was 74 degrees.

On a different day at South Hills Junction, we watched one bus idle for 10 minutes, another one for eight minutes. A Port Authority dump truck idled for 19 minutes without moving. The temperature that day was 75 degrees.

But the prize for longest idler goes to one inside a bus wash bay at Port Authority's Collier garage.

"Since 1:35, this bus has been operating. The time right now is 20 minutes to three," former Collier Township supervisor Nick Mamula said.

Mamula lives above the Port Authority garage. He allowed us to videotape the idling bus through his fence.

"The noise is constant because the buses are running constantly," Mamula said.

The bus finally pulled away at 10 minutes after three -- more than an hour and a half of idling. We saw a second bus at the Collier garage idling for 45 minutes.

"Two buses out of 1,000? Would I call that a massive problem? No, I can't say that I would," Port Authority CEO Steve Bland said.

We told Bland that we witnessed more than just two buses idling, but he told us that was the exception, not the rule. And then Bland seemed to say that idling is preferable to having to restart a bus' engine.

"In fact, there is a fuel consumption issue with just the process of starting a bus. You know, the extra fuel that's needed to get that engine turned over," he said.

But the environmental organization GASP (Group Against Smog and Pollution) says those who believe that idling is more fuel-efficient than stopping and then restarting an engine are wrong.

"My understanding is that's -- I don't know the best way to put it -- an old wives' tale, or no longer true," said Michael Parker, of GASP.

"Does it actually use up more energy to start the engine up, rather than let it idle for 10 or 15 minutes?" Parsons said.

"Normally, they wouldn't be idling for 10 or 15 minutes, so we've been very pleased with how aggressive we've been, relative to other operators," Bland said.

"Normally, they wouldn't be idling for 10 or 15 minutes?" Parsons said.

"No. That would be exceptional," Bland said.

It also would be illegal. Allegheny County's air pollution law forbids diesel vehicles from idling more than five minutes on a day when the temperature is 75 or below.

You'll recall at South Hills Junction, on a day and hour when the temperature was 74, we saw two buses and one Port Authority dump truck all idling longer than five minutes.

"It adds up quickly over the course of a year," Parker said. "Diesel is one of the most toxic forms of air pollution. It really is bad for the health of the riders, drivers, pedestrians. It's bad for the health of commuters."

And with the price of diesel, it's bad for the budget. If each Port Authority bus idles just 10 minutes a day, the total cost of wasted fuel would top $225,000 over the course of a year.

Port Authority says its manufacturers warranty requires that each bus idle at least five minutes before they are shut off. And the agency says it has reduced its fuel usage by more than 11 percent since 2004.

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