Reducing idling in Ottawa

Idling is when a vehicle’s fuel engine is running but the vehicle is not moving. It wastes fuel, money, and causes air pollution that is harmful to our health. Idling can happen when

• waiting to pick up a child or a friend
• warming up or cooling off your vehicle
• sitting in your driveway finishing a phone call or listening to the end of a song
• any other time your vehicle is running and not moving

The Idling Control By-law (No. 2024-437) limits the time that a vehicle can idle. 

When someone is in the vehicle

• Maximum of three minutes per hour when it is between 0 °C and 27 °C outside
• Maximum of 10 minutes per hour when it is colder than 0 °C or hotter than 27 °C outside

When someone is not in the vehicle

• Maximum of one minute per hour

There are times when the idling by-law rules do not apply, including

• Vehicles in traffic, in drive-throughs, or having mechanical problems
• Vehicles helping in emergencies
• Police, paramedic, fire, or by-law vehicles in certain situations
• Public transit vehicles
• Private transit vehicles in certain situations
• Farm equipment
• Vehicles used as mobile workshops
• Medical reasons

For a full list of exemptions, see the Idling Control By-law (No. 2024-437), Section 5.

• Always dress for the weather, even for short trips
• Drive your vehicle to warm your engine faster
• Keep the engine warm by using a block heater on cold winter days
• Turn on your block heater two hours before you plan to start the vehicle
• Use remote car starters wisely to avoid long warm-ups

Idling affects everyone but the air pollution it causes can be worse for children, older adults, and people with heart and lung issues. 

The World Health Organization warns that air pollution can have health impacts(link is external) such as stroke, heart disease, and lung cancer. 

The Ottawa Public Health page has more details about the harmful impacts of outdoor air pollution(link is external). 

We’re working to reduce idling by:

• Training all City vehicle operators
• Tracking how often vehicles are idling versus moving using telematics, a system to collect data on individual vehicles, installed in over 90% of our fleet
• Converting our fleet from fuel-powered to hybrid or electric vehicles
• Installing idling awareness signs along high-traffic roads in the city
• Encouraging alternatives to driving, such as cycling and e-scooters
• Improving the City’s active transportation network