Idle buses are the polluter's workshop, group says in suit against Greyhound over its buses at South Station and in South Boston

The Conservation Law Foundation today sued Greyhound Lines, saying the company is letting its drivers idle their diesel-powered buses - and spew out noxious chemicals - for more than the five minutes allowed by state law.

In its suit, filed in US District Court in Boston, the foundation says an investigator it had watch idling Greyound buses at both South Station and at a garage and lot at 569 East 1st St. in South Boston on 15 days from December though August, found buses frequently idling for longer periods, in several cases for more than 20 minutes, in three cases more than an hour and in one case for two hours and 17 minutes.

The group says this is bad for everybody from children playing at Medal of Honor Park, just two blocks from the South Boston facility, to patients and employees at Tufts Medical Center, just a half mile from the South Station bus terminal, to people strolling the downtown Greenway, even closer to the terminal.

Diesel-fueled vehicles emit diesel fuel exhaust, which contains fine particulates, nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2 ), benzene, formaldehyde, and forty other kinds of toxic air contaminants.

The foundation is seeking a court order to make Greyhound knock it off - and pay $121,275 per day for each violation for all [Clean Air Act] violations that occurred after November 2, 2015 and that are assessed on or after December 27, 2023.