Attorney General Schwalb Announces Bus Company Will Pay $85,000 and Adopt Anti-idling Procedures to Address Persistent Air Pollution Violations

DC Trails Will Program Engines on Entire Bus Fleet to Prevent Illegal Idling and Re-Train Drivers to Protect Health and Safety of DC Residents


Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb today announced that DC Trails, a local charter bus company, and its subsidiary DC2NY (which does business as BestBus), will pay $85,000 and program its bus engines to shut off after three minutes of idling as part of a settlement with the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) to address persistent air pollution violations.

An investigation by the District’s Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) and the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) uncovered evidence that DC Trails buses frequently idled their engines for longer than the District’s legal limit and that the company failed to comply with previous DOEE air pollution control enforcement actions. Under the terms of a new settlement agreement, DC Trails must pay penalties for its violations of DC law, program engines on its entire bus fleet to shut off after three minutes of idling, train drivers on anti-idling rules, submit to ongoing monitoring by the District, and face fines for any future noncompliance.

“Companies doing business in the District cannot pollute our air, violate our laws, and threaten the health and safety of our residents and visitors,” said Attorney General Schwalb. “This settlement holds DC Trails accountable for its persistent violations of the District’s air pollution regulations, including requiring it to implement policies and procedures designed to protect air quality by preventing illegal bus idling. The Office of the Attorney General will continue working closely with the Department of Energy and Environment to enforce our environmental laws, stop pollution, and protect District residents.”

DC Trails is a local bus company that operates a fleet of more than 60 diesel-powered buses and carries over 1.2 million passengers per year. It provides bus charter services for private bus tours, local universities, government agencies, sports teams, corporate groups, religious organizations, and more. DC Trails also owns BestBus, a passenger bus service that operates between DC and New York City, and in parts of Virginia and Delaware. BestBus sells tickets to customers, while DC Trails owns and operates the buses used by its subsidiary.

Under the District’s Air Pollution Control Act and related environmental regulations, it is illegal for many gas-powered and diesel-powered vehicles to idle their engines for more than three minutes when temperatures are above freezing (private passenger vehicles are exempted). These regulations were implemented to protect DC residents from air pollution, particularly from the harmful health impacts of diesel exhaust, which can cause lung cancer, heart conditions, and impaired immune systems. Diesel vehicles are responsible for at least five times more exhaust-associated health effects than standard gasoline vehicles.

In 2020, DOEE found that DC Trails had violated DC’s Air Pollution Control Act and anti-idling regulations on six occasions. The company agreed to stop illegally idling buses and provide anti-idling training to its drivers.

DC Trails failed to comply with its agreement with DOEE, and recent investigations by DOEE and OAG found evidence that DC Trails continued to violate DC law by:

  • Repeatedly idling buses for more than three minutes. From 2021 through 2024, DOEE and OAG investigators documented at least 31 occasions on which DC Trails buses idled for more than 3 minutes. The investigators documented one bus that idled for 25 minutes in above-freezing weather, and another bus that idled for 12 minutes.
     
  • Operating without a required basic business license. From October 1, 2021 to March 31, 2025, DC Trails and BestBus operated without the basic business license required to do business in DC.

Under the terms of a new settlement agreement, entered as a consent judgment in DC Superior Court, DC Trails will:

  • Pay $85,000 to the District.
     
  • Program all bus engines to shut off after three minutes of idling. DC Trails has programmed engines on all 63 of its active buses to shut off after three minutes of idling when operating in the District. DC Trails will test all buses quarterly to ensure proper functioning of the anti-idling shut-off mechanism and will not operate a bus in the District if its anti-idling engine shut-off mechanism is not working properly.
     
  • Conduct anti-idling training for all drivers. DC Trails will train new drivers on anti-idling rules within 21 days of their hire and perform annual anti-idling driver refresher training for all drivers. The company will also post “no idling” signage inside its buses, and post anti-idling signage throughout its DC workplace, including in bus parking lots and driver lounges.
     
  • Submit to compliance monitoring by the District. For one year after the settlement, DC Trails must provide quarterly reports to OAG demonstrating the proper function of its anti-idling engine shut-off mechanism. The company must also provide a report one year after the settlement certifying under oath that all bus drivers have participated in the required anti-idling training.
     
  • Pay additional penalties for any future noncompliance. If DC Trails violates any of the terms of this agreement with the District, it will face additional monetary penalties for each day it is not in compliance.

A copy of the settlement is available here.

A copy of the District’s complaint, filed along with the settlement agreement, is available here.

This matter was handled by Assistant Attorney General Wesley Rosenfeld, Special Assistant Attorney General Shilpa Sadhasivam, Investigator Cullen Hamilton, and Joanna Wasik, Chief of the Housing and Environmental Justice Section.