The Jakarta administration's independent auditing team may still be in the pipeline, but non-governmental organization Generasi Peduli Udara Bersih (GPUB) said it would monitor the 80 auto workshops authorized to perform emissions tests and issue certificates.

"For more than a year now, we have been monitoring auto workshops conducting emissions tests, and we will continue to do so until the administration has established an official audit team," GPUB researcher Hartopo told The Jakarta Post Tuesday.

He said that every three months for the past year-and-a-half, the NGO had conducted surveys and interviews of the auto workshops' heads, technicians and customers, to ensure the services provided by the workshops were up to standard.

"We will, however, increase the intensity of our surveys," Hartopo added, explaining that quality control would be more important when the compulsory emissions tests for the extension of vehicle registrations began on Feb. 4.

Currently, 239 technicians have been certified to test vehicle emissions, and 80 workshops have so far been authorized to issue certificates.

Hartopo said the cost of the emissions tests varied from workshop to workshop, ranging between Rp 20,000 (about US$2.10) and Rp 80,000, also depending on the type of fuel used by the vehicle.

"Emissions tests for vehicles that use diesel fuel are more expensive because the equipment used is more expensive," Hartopo said, adding that the cost of the emissions tests was usually included in the cost of other services, such as tune-ups.

Besides a certificate, vehicle owners also will be given a sticker to show their vehicle has passed the emissions test. The sticker will be placed on the upper left side of the windshield, Hartopo explained.

He said more than 80 percent of emissions problems were caused by vehicles' air and fuel filters, and in a highly polluted city like Jakarta, vehicles should have tune-ups at least every three months.

For vehicles that run on diesel fuel, the nozzles and injector calibration also should be checked, as well as the fuel tank to ensure it is clean.

Hartopo said among the indications that a vehicle had an emissions problem was if the engine would not stay in idle or if it used more fuel than normal.

Source: Jakarta Post