Motorcoach operators fined for idling in New York

Greyhound Lines and four subsidiaries of Coach USA, plus snack-food maker Frito-Lay, must pay a combined $103,000 that will be used to plant trees in neighborhoods of New York City. The payment is a settlement of an anti-idling investigation by New York's attorney general. Greyhound, Gray Line of New York Tours, Community Coach, Leisure Lines, Suburban Trails and Frito-Lay were cited as being the most-frequent violators of New York's idling statutes. Under the settlement, the companies also must implement a new idling policy that covers starting procedures, excessive idling at service facilities, employee training, employee responsibility for reporting idling tickets, monitoring compliance of their New York operations for three years, and paying the cost of the investigation -- more than $7,000. Further violations risk penalties of $1,000 to $5,000 for each citation. New York has some of the toughest anti-idling laws in the nation. The state law calls for penalties of $250 to $15,000 if diesel-engined vehicles idle longer than five minutes while parked. In New York City, the law says diesel buses and trucks cannot idle for more than three consecutive minutes, except when powering a loading or unloading device.