WASHINGTON — The Obama administration set the first-ever fuel-efficiency rules for heavy-duty trucks and buses Tuesday, a move that will cut greenhouse-gas emissions and fuel use by such vehicles as long-haul tractor-trailers and school buses over the next several years.
The regulations require heavy-duty trucks and buses to improve their fuel efficiency 5 percent each year between 2013 and 2018 compared with the industry’s 2010 baseline, which the administration estimates will save a total of $50 billion in fuel costs and 530 million barrels of oil during that period.
Heavy-duty trucks and buses account for 20 percent of the nation’s annual greenhouse-gas emissions. Federal officials said the stricter limits will increase the cost of a tractor-trailer by $6,220 while saving $73,000 in fuel costs over its operating life. The Washington Post
