BCTA Calls For Idle Management Regulation in British Columbia

Jul 18, 2022 - 3 years ago

BCTA is advocating for province-wide idle management regulation for BC’s medium- and heavy-duty commercial road transportation sector.

BCTA Calls For Idle Management Regulation in British Columbia — Emergency activities and personnel could be exempt from the proposed anti-idling regulation.
Photo by Styves Exantus from Pexels

Addressing the climate emergency is a key priority for the BC Trucking Association (BCTA), which is why the BCTA Sustainability Committee works with the trucking industry to help identify measures they can take today, and in the future, to reduce the sector’s carbon footprint and reduce unnecessary idling.

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the commercial road transportation sector has grown by 27% over the past decade (2007-2018), and BCTA modelling is forecasting growth of 17.3% by 2030. To reduce transportation related GHG emissions, many North American jurisdictions have implemented various forms of legislation and regulations to limit engine idling. On average, heavy-duty commercial vehicles idle for 1,800 hours per year, and as a result burn approximately 7,200 litres of diesel and emit roughly 18,720 kg of carbon dioxide emissions— equivalent to four passenger vehicles. Because of this, many levels of government across North America have already implemented idle management regulations such as:

Vancouver: all motor vehicles, 3 consecutive minutes in a 60-minute period
Revelstoke: all motor vehicles, 3 consecutive minutes when not in motion
Toronto: all motor vehicles, 1 minute in a 60-minute period when not in motion
Banff: all motor vehicles, no idling permitting other than exemptions
Gatineau: all motor vehicles, 3 minutes in a 60-minute period

A province-wide mandate will establish a consistent, level playing field that municipalities can consider adopting.
The intent of the proposed regulation is to demonstrate that BCTA and its members are committed to the fight against climate change and would like to work collaboratively with the Government of BC to find ways of meeting our shared objectives to evolve to a lower carbon future. This regulation would apply to all commercial vehicles with a gross vehicle weight larger than 11,794 kilograms and prohibit idling for longer than 5 minutes in a 60-minute period when the vehicle is stationary.

Exemptions to this regulation could include:

Emergency activity/personnel
Traffic and weather conditions
For maintenance/repair purposes
A diesel-fueled truck operating in ambient air temperature below 0 degrees Celsius, or above 28 degrees Celsius for more than 2 hours
A vehicle using an auxiliary power unit, generator set, cargo temperature control, or other idle reduction technology that maintains heat or air conditioning or provides electrical power
A vehicle using power to perform its duties (e.g., crane, concrete, picker, hydrovac, bulk liquid pump)

Learn more about BCTA’s environmental advocacy initiatives at bctrucking.com.

Source: BCTA