A sign has been placed at a strategic spot near the entrance of an auto workshop on Jl. Buncit Raya in South Jakarta to catch the attention of pedestrians and passing motorists.

In a sense, it is a sign of the times, identifying the garage as one of the designated sites for vehicle emissions tests -- a requirement for all private car owners in renewing their vehicle registration fees (STNK) as of Feb. 4.

The city administration has said it will enforce administrative sanctions against private vehicles that do not comply with emissions standards. Motorists without the emissions-standard sticker issued by the garages will not be able to renew their vehicle registration documents.

Some of the city's auto workshops that offered the tests before bylaw No. 2/2005 on air pollution was passed are also among the designated facilities.

At the Astra Isuzu workshop in Buncit, garage manager Yoyok Sutarto said the test was short in duration and procedures were already in place.

"Here the test will only take about 15 to 30 minutes per car. If the emissions are below the approved standard, the car owner will receive a printout and sticker signifying that the vehicle met the standards," he said.

Owners of cars and motorbikes which exceed the exhaust standard will not have their vehicles immediately yanked off the roads or pay a penalty at the garage.

"If they fail, we will recommend the owner fix the machine first."

Mechanic Heryamshah at PT Prabu Motor on Jl. Gatot Subroto in South Jakarta said vehicle owners were already coming in for the tests before Feb. 4.

"We have conducted emissions tests on about 100 private cars since last year," he said.

The city administration distributed a circular to auto workshops with computerized exhaust testers, inviting them to have their mechanics undergo special training ahead of the bylaw. A total of 115 auto workshops have been accredited to conduct the tests, although only 80 of them can issue the emissions test certificate.

A mechanic at PT Pancaran Aneka Motor in Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta, complained that his garage was not informed of the training.

"We have equipment to measure car emissions but we never received an invitation from the city administration to take part in the program."

Source: Jakarta Post