"Towards an Idle-Free Zone in the City of
Mississauga"

Baseline Resident Telephone Survey:
Summary Report

October, 2001

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Table of Contents

1.0 Introduction

 

2.0 Survey Methodology

 

3.0 Who Participated

 

4.0 Survey Results

4.1 Frequency and Duration of Idling Behaviour

 

4.2 Attitudes and Knowledge

 

4.2.1 Awareness of Savings from Reduced Idling

 

4.2.2 Reasons for Idling

 

4.2.3 Idling for Brief Periods and Remembering to Turn a Vehicle's Engine Off

 

4.2.4 Perception that Vehicle Idling is an Undesirable Behaviour

 

4.2.5 Attitudes Concerning Vehicle Idling and the Environment and Environmental Protection in Mississauga

 

4.2.6 Perceptions of the Appropriate Length of Time for Vehicle Idling

 

4.3 Support for an Anti-Idling Campaign in Mississauga

 

5.0 Conclusions

 

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1.0 Introduction

As part of the "Towards an Idle-Free Zone in the City of Mississauga" project, a residential telephone survey was conducted in the City of Mississauga in late September, 2001. The purpose of the telephone survey was to gain an understanding of vehicle idling behaviours, to examine the frequency of vehicle idling in various locations in Mississauga, and to get a sense of the perceptions and attitudes concerning vehicle idling currently held by City residents. The survey also serves as a baseline against which the success of the "Towards an Idle-Free Zone" campaign's efforts to influence community behaviours and attitudes towards vehicle idling can be evaluated.

2.0 Survey Methodology

The survey was conducted via telephone during the hours of 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. between September 17th and September 22nd , 2001. Participants were selected at random from the City of Mississauga telephone directory. Based on the number of surveys conducted (155) the results are accurate 19 times out of 20, plus or minus 5%. This means that if the survey was repeated 20 times, 19 times out of those 20, the results would only vary at most 5% from those obtained in this study.

3.0 Who Participated

In total 936 households were contacted and asked to participate in a 10 minute survey about driving habits and environmental issues. Of the 936 households contacted, 155 households completed the survey - a response rate of 17%. This represents a relatively low response rate compared to other telephone surveys. One possible reason for the low response rate is that the surveyors were scripted to ask for the person in the house who drives the most, which may not have been the person they initially contacted by phone. Another reason for the low response rate may have been a language barrier, as the survey was conducted in English only.

Of the 781 residents who wished not to participate, 17 completed a short refusal survey. There were slight differences between respondents who completed the full survey and those who completed the refusal survey on frequency of idling and attitudes towards the one question asked on vehicle idling. These differences are discussed further in the Section 4.0 of this report.

Of the respondents who completed the full survey, 52% were female. The typical respondent was between the ages of 35-44 (30%), reported having 'graduated college or technical school' (21%) or having 'graduated university' (21%), and lived in a single-detached home (58%). Respondents had on average 3.2 people living in their household, and 1.9 vehicles per household. The majority of respondents who supplied annual household income gave an income of over $100,000 per year (24%), however 34% of respondents did not wish to provide information on household income.

4.0 Survey Results

4.1. Frequency and Duration of Idling Behaviour

Respondents were asked the number of times they idled their engine during the last day they drove and the average length of time they idled in a variety of situations and in various locations where idling may occur. As can be seen in Table 1, the three incidences where the highest percentage of respondents reported idling once or more were before driving their vehicle (33%), while waiting in bank or fast food drive-through lanes (22%) and while waiting for household members in the driveway (18%).

Table 1: Frequency and Duration of Vehicle Idling Under Various Situations and Locations

Situation - "the last day you drove your vehicle"	Respondents idling once or more (%)	Average number of times reported idling	Average amount of time spent idling (minutes)	Range of responses for duration of idling
Idling the engine before driving	33	1.78	2.87	5 seconds - 15 minutes (one 30 minutes)
Idling the engine while waiting in the driveway for other members of the household	18	1.64	3.07	2 seconds - 15 minutes
Idling while waiting to pick up friends/household members at locations other than home.	12	1.56	3.64	1 minute - 10 minutes
Idling in drive through bank or food lanes	22	1.44	3.77	0.75 minutes - 15 minutes
Idling while running errands (work or non-work related)	9	1.38	1.68	10 seconds - 5 minutes
Idling at a school	5	1.29	2.14	7.5 seconds - 5 minutes
Idling at a GO station	5	1.14	4.48	20 seconds - 10 minutes
Idling while picking up someone at local arena, library or community centre.	2	1	1.83	0.5 - 3 minutes

Considering that an engine should be turned off if idling for more than 10 seconds while parked, the results of the survey show that residents of Mississauga are idling their vehicles for a significant amount of time. The three incidences where respondents reported the longest duration of vehicle idling were while waiting at a GO Transit station (4.48 minutes), while waiting in bank or fast food "drive-thru" lanes (3.77 minutes) and while waiting for family members at locations other than home (3.64 minutes).

When the 17 respondents to the refusal survey were asked how many times they idled their engine before driving, 53% stated they had idled once or more, for an average duration of 1.44 minutes. This suggests that there may be more idling occurring in Mississauga than is apparent in the results of the full survey.

4.2 Attitudes and Knowledge

Perceptions held by residents concerning vehicle idling and environmental issues were measured by requesting a response to 17 statements. Respondents were asked to state the extent to which they agreed or disagreed with a statement, using "1" as "strongly disagree" and '5' as "strongly agree". Table 2 presents the percent response for each statement.

Table 2: Percent Response to Statements about Idling

Statement	1 - strongly disagree	2	3	4	5 - strongly agree	Don't Know
It is good for a vehicle to let it warm up before driving in the winter	16	5	19	14	44	2
It is good for a vehicle engine to let it warm up before driving in the summer	68	14	8	2	7	1
For brief stops it uses more gas to restart the vehicle than it does to keep it idling	29	8	11	12	25	15
It is easier on the vehicle's starter motor to let a vehicle idle	23	10	8	9	21	29
You should turn off your vehicle engine even for very short stops	28	7	9	10	42	3
Turning off my vehicle engine whenever possible saves significantly on gasoline costs	18	8	16	13	39	6
I frequently don't remember to turn my vehicle engine off when I am parked and waiting inside the vehicle	69	6	8	5	12	0
In colder weather, to keep myself warm, I need to keep the engine running	25	10	22	9	31	3
In hot weather, to keep myself cool, I need to keep the engine running	41	14	16	8	22	0
Turning my vehicle engine off while parked is the "right thing to do"	3	1	4	8	82	2
Friends and family turn their vehicle engines off while parked	7	4	14	14	35	24
Idling a vehicle produces unnecessary air pollution	5	0	3	10	79	3
Idling a vehicle wastes fuel	5	1	8	9	72	5
Idling a vehicle contributes to climate change	4	2	14	10	57	13
I am happy with the current air quality in Mississauga	30	14	21	15	17	4
Each member of the community has a responsibility for protecting our environment	1	0	3	7	90	0
Our quality of life in Mississauga will be improved if more is done to protect the environment.	1	0	6	6	84	3

Note: Shading indicates the most frequent response

4.2.1 Awareness of Savings from Reduced Idling

Respondents were generally aware that excessive idling wastes fuel and that turning a vehicle's engine off can save fuel. Of the respondents to the full survey, 81% agreed that idling a vehicle wastes fuel, and 52% agreed that turning their engine off can save on gasoline costs. That there is such a high awareness of the monetary savings from not idling and yet there is still a high incidence of idling occurring in Mississauga, indicates there are other influences besides monetary costs on idling behaviour.

4.2.2 Reasons for Idling

A high percentage of respondents (58%) agreed that it is good for a car to warm it up before driving in the winter, indicating that there is a strong belief in the myth that vehicle engines should be warmed up before driving in cold weather. Only 9% of respondents agreed that a vehicle should be warmed up in the summer.

Almost half of the respondents (42%) agreed that they left the engine running in order to keep warm in cold weather, indicating climate control in winter months may be an important motivator to idling behaviour. Climate control was not as important during warmer weather as only 30% of respondents agreed that they needed to keep the car idling to keep cool.

4.2.3 Idling for Brief Periods and Remembering to Turn a Vehicle's Engine Off

When asked if for brief stops it uses more gas to restart the vehicle than to idle, 37% of respondents of the full survey agreed, whereas a much higher percentage (53%) of respondents in the refusal study agreed.

Only 17% of respondents stated that they frequently forget to turn their engines off. Although this would indicate that forgetting is not an issue in vehicle idling, it is more likely that vehicle idling is not a priority on the minds of drivers. Prompts indicating to drivers to turn off their vehicles could therefore prove to be effective at placing vehicle idling into the thoughts of drivers.

4.2.4. Perception that Vehicle Idling is an Undesirable Behaviour

There appears to be a strong social norm that idling is an undesirable behaviour. The chart below indicates that 90% of respondents believe turning their engine off is the "right thing to do" and 52% believe an engine should be turned off even for short stops. When asked if family and friends turn their vehicles off when parked, 49% agreed, although 24% did not know the idling behaviour of family and friends. This suggests that there is already a perceived norm that idling is an unwanted behaviour in the community, which will be of great assistance in the city-wide anti-idling campaign.

4.2.5 Attitudes Concerning Vehicle Idling and the Environment and Environmental Protection in Mississauga

The majority of respondents had a strong understanding of the connection between vehicle idling and air quality and climate. As the chart below indicates, 89% agreed that vehicle idling produces unnecessary air pollution, and 67% believe vehicle idling contributes to climate change. Only 32% of respondents were happy with the current air quality in Mississauga, whereas 90% of respondents believed the quality of life in Mississauga will be improved if more is done to protect the environment. An overwhelming 97% of respondents agreed that each member of the community has a responsibility for protecting our environment.

4.2.6 Perception of the Appropriate Length of Time for Vehicle Idling

Respondents did not seem to be aware that idling a vehicle for more than 10 seconds uses more gas than restarting the vehicle. When asked in the survey how long a vehicle can be idled before it uses more gas then it would if the car was turned off and restarted later, only 57% of the respondents provided an answer to this question. Of the respondents who provided an answer, the average length of time stated that a car could idle before it uses more gas than restarting the vehicle was 2.69 minutes. Answers provided by respondents ranged from 0 to 30 minutes.

4.3 Support for an Anti-Idling Campaign in Mississauga

Of the 155 respondents to the full survey, 34% had heard of the phrase "Idle-free Zone", a large number considering the campaign in Mississauga had not yet commenced at the time of surveying.

There was a large amount of support amongst respondents for a proposed campaign addressing unnecessary vehicle idling in Mississauga, with 94% of respondents stating they would support such a project.

Respondents who indicated they would support such a project in Mississauga were further asked why they would support the project. The majority of respondents indicated helping the environment as their main motivator (47%), followed by improving personal health (13%) and saving money on fuel (13%). Additional responses for supporting an anti-idling project included improving community health and safety, better for their vehicle, idling wastes resources, idling produces noise pollution, people need to be educated and be provided with reminders, concern about personal safety, concern about odours, and that idling is a growing problem and many people idle when they shouldn't. Of the 5% of respondents who stated they did not support an anti-idling project in Mississauga, 83% stated that they did not think idling was a problem, and 17% did not want more government control over transportation.

5.0 Conclusions

The survey documents some important baseline data regarding behaviours, attitudes and perceptions of residents of Mississauga towards idling issues and the environment. The key findings can be summarized as follows:

§ The highest frequency of idling occurs before starting to drive a vehicle, followed by waiting in bank or fast food "drive-thru" lanes.

§ People who do idle are idling for a significant amount of time, with the longest duration at GO Transit stations (4.48 minutes).

§ Residents of Mississauga do not appear to be aware that idling a vehicle for more than 10 seconds uses more gas than restarting a vehicle.

§ There is a general awareness that reduced idling saves on fuel and harmful emissions to the environment.

§ There is a tendency to idle for climate control in the vehicle, and to warm a vehicle up in cold weather before driving.

§ There is a perception in the community that idling is an undesirable behaviour.

§ There is strong support for an anti-idling campaign in the City of Mississauga, with the main motivator being environmental improvement.