Emission alert system's failure down to Transport Malta's lack of IT support

The Auditor General's performance audit report on the Vehicle Emissions Control Schemes concluded that Transport Malta does not have the IT infrastructure to support the emission alert scheme, and that its lack of the appropriate data management applications had led to enforcement inefficiencies.

The Emission Alert Campaign (EAC) was launched by Transport Malta in August 2005 with the aim of increasing public awareness on the negative impact of harmful vehicle emissions, increasing enforcement through the involvement of the public and reducing drastically vehicle emissions.

The scheme, through which people could report cars visibly emitting more exhaust than they should, was launched in 2005. Up to 2011, a total of 257,451 SMS reports were received by TM, with the peak being reached in 2008 with 54,095 reports received.

Things took a down-turn when in the Auditor General's 2009 report, it emerged that the transport authority had not processed 70,000 SMS reports made since the beginning of 2008. Since then, the reporting scheme has been in severe decline.

Under the scheme, cars reported three times or more for emitting black smoke from their exhaust pipes, get called in for testing. A notice is sent out to the registered owner of the vehicle, with an appointment for the test. If the vehicle fails the test, a fine is issued on the spot, and the owner is required to fix the vehicle and is provided with another test date. The same process applies until the vehicle passes the test.

If the owner fails to take the car in for the first appointment it is also given a second test date, but in the instance that the owner fails to take the vehicle in for testing twice in a row, the vehicle is automatically issued with a road licence restriction, forcing the owner to pass a test before the licence can be renewed.

The report concludes that the drastic decrease in public participation can be attributed to the improvement in air quality due to an overall reduction in vehicle emissions, the lack of continuity in the awareness initiatives of the campaign and the introduction of Euro 5 buses by Arriva.

But the Auditor General noted that an Expression of Interest for a customised IT enforcement system has been pending since 2010. The report says that this has prevented TM from comprehensively and accurately evaluating the cost benefit of such a system.

The report also points out that more summoned vehicles are passing the test. In 2011 the pass rate was 97% from the 137 tested cars.  This contrasts with the 81% pass rate registered between July and December of 2009. According to the audit this improvement can be attributed to car owners making the necessary maintenance and repairs, which is encouraged by the TM guidelines.

According to the report the number of no shows increased by 13% between 2009 and 2011. This increase is attributed to the lack of immediate enforcement action by TM, which in turn increases hazardous vehicle emissions.

The report also states that TM's policy of subjecting vehicles to an EAC test was not always adhered to because of the authority's lack of human resources. The audit report also explains that it may take up to six months for reported vehicles to undergo a test.

In its conclusion, the report states that TM sought to implement the 2009 recommendations and has improved its audit trails related to the SMS processing.

It adds that the authority dos not have the IT infrastructure to support the EAC. Although TM issued an expression of interest, lack of funds prohibited TM from making further progress. "Data is still not analysed in real time, which consequently leads to substantial delays in calling and testing of potentially non-compliant vehicles at TM's facilities."

The report also states that the lack of the appropriate data management applications translates itself into enforcement inefficiencies. The report concludes that TM is unable to immediately impose restrictions on the renewal of the vehicle's annual circulation license.