Shops cough up for emissions requirement
Inspection upgrades could cost thousands
The state is poised to launch a new emissions inspection program that some mechanics worry could leave drivers waiting longer, with new equipment that’s also hitting some shops with tens of thousands of dollars in new costs.
The new system, set to officially launch Oct. 1 under a new vendor, is adding video, camera and other advances Registry of Motor Vehicles officials say will help prevent fraud inside the state’s 1,760 licensed inspection stations.
Motorists will still pay the same $35 to have their car inspected each year, but the shops themselves are paying at least $5,810 for vendor Applus to outfit each auto bay for the new equipment, though the shops themselves still collect the same $23.50 per inspection they’ve gotten since 2014.
“There isn’t much of a win-win if you will. We have to go along with it,” said Richard Falvey, owner of Hyannis Mobil Service Center, who estimated it’s costing him between $15,000 and $20,000 to upgrade two inspection machines. “I don’t have much recourse if there’s something I don’t like. I can either participate or not participate.”
John Howell, co-executive director of the New England Service Station and Auto Repair Association, said the new equipment is a necessary upgrade, but some shops are worried about the impact the “learning curve” will have on getting cars inspected as quickly as they are now.
“The only thing we’re concerned about is, is it going to take the average shop more time to do it?” Howell said. “If that’s the case, it might not be financially worth it to do the inspection. I think that’s the biggest complaint. How long is it going to take?”
Registrar Erin Deveney said demand has long been high among shops to participate in the inspection program, and no current shop has opted out despite the added costs. She also said that judging by other states, the addition of the new technology isn’t expected to have a “negative motorist impact.”
“We have no indication that motorists will be further inconvenienced” with the transition, she said. “The introduction of cameras is new to the Massachusetts program, but we’re not the first state to actually implement this technology.”
Deveney said both Applus, which won a fiveyear, $29 million contract to run the program, and the RMV’s compliance team will have access to video footage captured by the new cameras. But she said it shouldn’t infringe on motorists’ privacy, pointing to the “long-standing” practice of not allowing drivers in the bay areas during inspections.
“No motorist would be captured on this footage,” she said.
Brad Kaye, owner of Art’s Towing in Milford, said the addition of cameras is a “little invasive,” but the costs are the biggest factor.
“You’re talking about thousands of dollars to stay in business,” he said. “But if you want to do (inspections), you have to. You want to be a one-stop shop.”