HCMCity (VNS/VNA) - A pilot programme to monitor emissions from motorbikes hasbeen launched by Ho Chi Minh City’s Department of Transport.

Localsparticipating in the voluntary programme can have their motorbikes'emissions tested for free at eight vehicle maintenance agencies until September.

Owners ofbikes whose gas emissions are within the national criteria can receive vouchersfor changing engine oil.

Vehiclesthat exceed the criteria will be subjected to further testing and willreceive free maintenance for parts such as spark plugs and carburetors.

More than6,000 testing papers are expected to be issued during the pilotperiod to locals who want to sign up for the programme.

Talep IssaMael of District 3's Honda - Tan Long Van agency, one of the testers forthe programme, said that procedures would take around 15 minutes,including both testing and data entry. The data will be sent to the VietnamAssociation of Motorcycle Manufacturers for analysis.

Additionaltesting for vehicles exceeding the national criteria will take around 45minutes.

District 1has two assessment facilities at Ly Tu Trong and Nguyen Trai streets;District 3 has one at Tran Quoc Thao street; Phu Nhuan District has threeat Phan Dang Luu, Truong Quoc Dung and Nguyen Kiem streets; and Tan BinhDistrict has two at Cong Hoa and Pho Quang streets.

As of 2019,HCM City had nearly 8 million motorbikes, accounting for around 90 percentof vehicles in the city.

Bui Hoa An, DeputyDirector of the Department of Transport, said that traffic congestion, noiseand air pollution, and vehicles with poor emissions were causinghealth problems among local residents.

Emissionsare normally assessed when automobiles are manufactured,imported or registered, but the procedure does not exist for motorbikes.

Thevoluntary testing programme for motorbikes aims to examine locals'response to such a programme, according to An. Through the pilot,motorbike emissions will be evaluated and the socio-economicimpact of monitoring emissions will be assessed.  

Thedepartment will also use the collected data to expand the monitoringprogramme, focusing on old vehicles. The city police havebeen asked to focus more on old motorbikes, which cause a great dealof pollution and pose safety risks.

Authoritiesare also raising local awareness about the usage of old vehicles, An said.    

AssociateProfessor Ho Quoc Bang, Director of the Air Pollution and Climate ChangeResearch Centre, said that if the city launched a programme to monitormotorbike emissions, a 30 percent decrease in air pollution could beachieved./.