CLF found more than 60 instances of illegal idling by Greyhound buses. Photo: Adilson González Morales
September 10, 2024 (Boston, MA) – Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Greyhound Lines, Inc. for violating the Clean Air Act. The company’s buses have been unlawfully idling at the South Station bus terminal and at its bus lot in South Boston, releasing toxic emissions into the neighborhood.
“Greyhound must hit the brakes on excessive idling,” said Clare Soria, CLF associate attorney. “Illegal and excessive idling not only harms our environment but also harms our health, especially children whose lungs are still developing. And, urban communities suffer disproportionately from toxic, polluted air.”
Greyhound owns and operates diesel-fueled buses, carrying passengers from Boston’s South Station to cities across the United States including New York City and Washington, D.C. CLF found more than 60 instances of Greyhound buses idling extensively at South Station and at its lot in South Boston. One bus was observed idling for more than two hours in South Boston.
Idling vehicles release harmful exhaust filled with toxic emissions, including benzene, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides. As the vehicles idle, these pollutants accumulate in the surrounding air. When inhaled, exhaust can cause lung damage, aggravate conditions like asthma and bronchitis, and has been linked to increased incidence of heart disease, multiple kinds of cancer, and premature death. Children are particularly susceptible to these harms.
This is the latest lawsuit in CLF’s anti-idling campaign. Since 2019, CLF has filed nine cases in Connecticut and Massachusetts against transportation companies in violation of anti-idling laws. Most recently, after CLF sued Durham School Services for excessive idling, the school bus company agreed to spend $1 million to transition to electric vehicles and paid nearly $300,000 to nonprofits for environmentally friendly projects.
CLF’s Greyhound complaint can be found here.
CLF experts are available for further comment.
###