New Rules for US Trucks and Buses

US industry officials are welcoming new rules for trucks and buses that will cut greenhouse gas emissions and fuel usage. The Obama administration set the nation’s first ever fuel efficiency rules for both heavy-duty trucks and buses. These rules apply to everything from big yellow school busses to tractor trailers.

According to the Washington Post, heavy-duty trucks and busses account for 20 percent of the nation’s annual greenhouse gas emissions. According to Vickie Patton, general counsel for the advocacy group Environmental Defense Fund, the current fleet of US trucks and busses “consumes nearly 2.5 million barrels of oil per day.”

The new rules stipulate that buses and trucks must improve their fuel efficiency by 5 percent each year between 2013 and 2018 (compared to the 2010 baseline). The Obama administration estimates it will save 530 million barrels of oil and a total of $50 billion between 2013 and 2018.

The Washington Post also reports that by 2018, the new rules will improve fuel efficiency of tractor-trailers by 23 percent, heavy duty trucks will become 15 percent more fuel efficient, and busses will increase their fuel efficiency by 10 percent.

According to Patton that the new regulations will “cut climate pollution by 270 million metric tons.”