TRL were commissioned by City of London to undertake research into the vehicle emissions emitted whilst idling.
Across all 32 London Boroughs, campaigns have been launched to raise public awareness of the impact of idling on environmental air quality and human health. These campaigns use a combination of education, training and enforcement. Historically, the key strapline that has been used in campaigns UK-wide is that an idling car can fill up to 150 balloons with harmful exhaust emissions every minute. However, the reliability and applicability of this statement to the vehicles in London today has recently been called into question.
This project aimed to provide an updated, evidence-based conclusion to support the upcoming anti-idling campaign planned for launch in February 2021.Through analysis of real-world data, TRL have quantified the emissions and associated costs from idling events, taking into account NO2, NOx, NO and CO2 emissions from petrol and diesel cars and vans. TRL have then compared the outputs to tangible constructs so the impact of idling can be easily understood by a wide audience.