U.S. Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-23, and Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., have introduced the BUSES Act, H.R. 9317, legislation to establish a consistent national standard for bus idling regulations and prevent state and local governments from imposing a patchwork of burdensome mandates that increase costs and create operational challenges for transportation providers.

The bill would prohibit private civil actions related to bus idling violations and prevent government programs that financially reward private individuals for reporting violations.

Across the country, states and municipalities have enacted increasingly restrictive anti-idling policies that place significant compliance burdens on school transportation providers, private bus operators, and motorcoach companies. New York City has adopted some of the most extreme measures, where private bus operators have reportedly received more than 4,000 idling summonses since 2020, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and mounting legal costs. California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Connecticut are pursuing similar regulations.

Additionally, New York City adopted a citizen reporting program, where individuals can receive 25-50% of collected fines for successful complaints. Recent reporting has revealed several participants have earned hundreds of thousands of dollars, with some approaching $1 million in total payouts.

“Bus operators, who often travel across state lines and multiple jurisdictions, should not be forced to navigate a confusing maze of conflicting regulations just to do their jobs,” Langworthy said. “This legislation creates a commonsense national standard that protects transportation providers from excessive mandates while ensuring they have the flexibility needed to safely operate, especially in regions where safety, traffic, and weather conditions are a legitimate concern. This bill also rightly puts an end to the disturbing big brother bounty programs that are nothing more than a cash grab.”

Specifically, the legislation establishes a nationwide standard preventing states and local governments from restricting covered buses from idling for less than 15 minutes, prohibits private civil actions related to covered bus idling violations, and prevents government programs that financially reward private individuals for reporting covered bus idling violations.

“We can have responsible environmental stewardship without abandoning all common sense,” Langworthy said. “Transportation providers want to comply with reasonable standards, but a system that encourages people to profit from reporting drivers and creates a patchwork of conflicting rules is definitely not the right approach.”