The population of people and vehicles skyrockets in Taiwan with the rapid development of commercial and industrial activities. Among all, the number of registered motorcycles explodes due to their mobility, agility and convenience of parking. Chiayi City is small and densely populated, and without proper control measures, severe pollution is inevitable. In light of this, EPA started collecting the air pollution fees in 1996, the associated mobile pollution source control measures were established, and mobile pollution source inspection and control projects conducted through the country.
Up to Dec 31, 7,969 vehicles were stopped for examination, accounting for an achievement rate of 113.8%. 3,057 motorcycles were examined, resulting in a failure rate of 16.6%. The owners of 16,538 motorcycles were informed for annual inspections, and 7,712 responded with a responding rate of 46.6%. The owners of 12,342 motorcycles were informed for license identification, and 8,710 responded with a responding rate of 70.6%. Also, 140,007 annual inspection notifications were sent, and 2.71% of the notifications were rejected.
Audits were carried out on 369 inspection stations in total. The deviation of these stations was tested with standard gases and all within 3% of tolerance. Undercover inspections were carried out on 72 inspection stations. In addition, the detector linearity check and drift detection check were carried out on the inspection stations as well, and most of the stations fulfilled the requirements of accuracy test. 2 sessions of inspection station training were provided and 132 qualified technicians participated in these sessions.
As of Dec 31, 6 promotional events were organized, and free inspections provided to 546 vehicles, 96 of which failed the inspection, accounting for a failure rate of 17.6%. Up to now, the number of applications for financial assistance for old vehicle replacement accumulates to 1,106. 9 low-pollution vehicle promotions were held, attracting 1,160 participants, 179 of which tried on the electric motorcycles provided at the event sites.
302 motorcycles went through secondary examinations due to public reporting, 52 passed the secondary exams and received monetary rewards, accounting for 17.2%. Furthermore, 21 motored vehicles received noise tests, and 4 failed the test, making up a failure rate of 19%.
The result of roadside examination on motorcycles that have passed the annual inspections was compared with that of the first exams in the annual inspection, and the comparison shows consistency of inspection quality. 55% of the motorcycles that have been properly maintained passed the roadside examination, indicating that the improvement resulting from the annual inspections remains 50% of effectiveness over the long run. The control measures enforced under the project over the years have performed what they are supposed to, allowing the drop in the pollution loading over the years for the mobile pollution sources in Chiayi.
