I stopped idling my car in the school pickup line and saved $47 in one month

Karen Murray · 2026-09-30T23:00:07.492405+00:00

I used to sit in the pickup line at my kid's school with the engine running for 20 minutes every day. It felt normal because everyone does it. Then in April I started shutting the car off and rolling the windows down instead. My gas bill went from about $180 a month to $133, and I did not change anything else about my driving. That is $47 back in my pocket just from turning a key. I also noticed the air around the line smells less like exhaust now, which my son with asthma has actually commented on twice. The weird part is that a few other parents saw me doing it and started shutting their cars off too. Now there are maybe six of us sitting in silence with the windows down. Has anyone else tried this and tracked the savings? I want to know if my $47 is typical or if I got lucky with the weather.

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I stopped idling my car in the school pickup line and saved $47 in one month | Climate Action - Topic Shares