AirCare
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
AirCare is a vehicle emissions testing program in place in the Lower Mainland including the Greater Vancouver Regional District and the Fraser Valley Regional District of British Columbia. Drivers in these areas are required to demonstrate that their vehicle has recently passed an emissions test before they are permitted to renew their auto insurance. Auto insurance is mandatory for all vehicles operated on public roads throughout British Columbia. The program is administered by a subsidiary of TransLink, Pacific Vehicle Testing Technologies Ltd. The actual testing is carried out by Envirotest Canada, a Canadian subsidiary of ESP Global. Currently, vehicles manufactured before 1993 require testing yearly; newer vehicles are tested every 2 years.
AirCare tests vehicles for the following regulated pollutants: Hydrocarbons (HC), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx) and diesel particulate. They further claim to reduce the production of Carbon Dioxide as the repairs for cars that fail often also improves fuel economy. Each vehicle type and model year has its own pass/fail criteria based on the emission standards at the time the vehicle was built.
The program has claimed significant success in reducing air pollution, but has been criticized for needlessly-frequently retesting newer and cleaner vehicles to subsidize the cost of testing the older and dirtier vehicles that are the bigger polluters.
The other main criticism is related to spending, the amount of money spent doing the testing is quite significant and it is argued that if this money could be better spent if it was used to directly reduce pollution through old car buy backs, incentives to buy less polluting cars, or a directed testing program aimed at the worst polluters. However, it is much more palatable for most drivers to pay money for a service (testing their vehicle) than it would be for a fee that is seen as benefiting others (those who qualify for the incentives).
Newer cars are tested every two years and older cars are tested annually. However, the newer cars are charged twice the fee as the older cars.
