Bylaw Services received 288 complaints about idling vehicles in Ottawa so far this year

Exhaust coming from a vehicle's tailpipe. (Tyler Fleming/CTV News Ottawa)

Bylaw Services officers issued eight tickets to drivers for vehicles excessively idling during the first nine months of the year, after the City of Ottawa tightened the anti-idling rules for vehicles when the temperature is below 0 C and above 27 C.

The City of Ottawa first introduced the Idling Control Bylaw in 2007 to limit how long a driver can idle their vehicle. Last fall, council approved new anti-idling rules that limited the idling of vehicles during cold and hot days.

As of Jan. 1, 2025, the maximum idling time for an occupied vehicle is three minutes per hour when the temperature is between 0 C and 27 C, and 10 minutes when the temperature is colder than 0 C and warmer than 27 C. The maximum idling time for an unoccupied vehicle is now one minute per hour, regardless of the temperature.

Bylaw and Regulatory Services told CTV News Ottawa that since Jan. 1, officers have received 288 requests for service about idling vehicles.

Bylaw Services officers have issued eight charges, 10 Bylaw Infraction Notices (written warnings), and 19 verbal warnings to drivers for idling vehicles.

“The Idling Control Bylaw is an important tool to address the harms associated with excessive and unnecessary idling. It’s important to note that enforcement outcomes have focused on public education and warnings as opposed to monetary penalties,” Roger Chapman, Ottawa’s director of Bylaw and Regulatory Services, told CTV News Ottawa in an email.

“Everyone plays a role when it comes to reducing greenhouse gases and improving air quality and Bylaw and Regulatory Services (BLRS) thanks residents for following the provisions of the Idling Control Bylaw.”

The charge under the Idling Control Bylaw includes a $615 fine, which includes the victim surcharge.

There are several exemptions to the idling bylaw, including emergency vehicles, OC Transpo and Para Transpo buses, mobile workshops, vehicles transporting individuals with a letter from a medical doctor, and school buses and tour buses when passengers are being loaded or unloaded.