B.C. is leaving AirCare in the dust — but it comes with a hitch for at least a couple unlucky drivers.
The vehicle emissions testing program comes to an end Wednesday (December 31) for light-duty trucks and cars in Metro Vancouver.
It’s bad timing for drivers whose vehicle insurance expires just before the program ends.
“If vehicle insurance decal expires Dec. 30, AirCare is still required at a reduced fee of $14 for vehicles model 1992 or later and $12 for 1991 model or later,” AirCare operations manager David Gourley said in an email.
“Anyone whose decal expires Dec. 31 does not need to do AirCare because their insurance is valid until midnight Dec. 31.”
Before the start of 2014, vehicle owners had to either pay $46 every two years or $23 per year, depending on the age of the car or truck. The government began reducing the price of inspections on a month-by-month basis this past January in anticipation of the program’s end.
When government announced in 2012 it was ending the AirCare program, former environment minister Terry Lake said newer light-duty vehicles were much cleaner than the ones rolling off assembly lines when the program began in 1992.
Emissions from light-duty vehicles have dropped 89%, from 149,300 tonnes in 1992 to 16,500 tonnes in 2014, according to a statement from B.C.’s environment ministry.
