During 2022only one in four vehicles that circulate in the metropolitan area of Saltillo went to carry out the verification process.
the director of Environment and Urban Spaces of the City Hall of Saltillo, Sofia Franco Villalobosannounced that, so far this 2023has already been certified to 6 thousand 953 cars and, of that number, only 20 failed the check and had to make modifications to reduce emissions.
IT MAY INTEREST YOU: March 31, last day of subsidy for vehicle verification in Saltillo; it will go from 24 to 125 pesos
The municipal official declared that the number of verifications that have been carried out in the current year is “much higher”. than that of 2022, due in large part to the ravages of the pandemic.
Likewise, he mentioned that the period between January and March is when they have had a greater influx of verifications due to the subsidy that was also presented last year, the first of the current municipal administration.
Franco mentioned that the fact that citizens do not check the emissions of their vehicles reduces air quality and “can trigger health issues.”
He explained that the air quality drops from “good” to “regular” during peak traffic hours, that is, between 06:00 and 08:00 and between 17:00 and 19:00.
The official explained that with the support of the Environmental Policeyour agency has made precise recommendations to motorists who have been reported as polluting.
“Our inspectors have attended places where they report a lot of contamination in vehicles and invite people to do their verification”Franco Villalobos detailed.
In this sense, he pointed out that the public has had a good response in this regard, because when they are notified, it is common for them to take a short time to verify their vehicle.
VEHICLES, THE MOST POLLUTING
On the subject, the secretary of the Environment in Coahuila, Eglantina Canalesassured that the increase in the vehicle fleet in the entity is the main factor of contamination.
He explained that the industries that have arrived in the region today are not “its main trouble”, because according to the studies carried out by its dependency, around 50 percent of the contaminants in the Coahuila capital come from this source.
“Therein lies the main problem. People don’t want to check their cars, so it’s very difficult. If we all had the precaution to go through a verification process like an environmental compliance process, it would be very good because we could reduce some points of contamination”detailed the biologist.
Likewise, VANGUARDIA reported in February of this year that in the last decade, the vehicle fleet has grown three times more than housing, according to data from Inegi and the Municipal Planning Institute.
In these statistics, it was reflected that in Saltillo there are 252,000 houses for 370,000 cars, that is, a difference of 118,000 units.
ARE WE CLOSE TO MANDATORY?
When asked if in Saltillo we are close or far from vehicle verification being an essential requirement to be able to circulate or carry out any procedure, Sofía Franco Villalobos replied:
“I think that on a cultural issue we are very close. We have come a long way. From the outset as a municipality we are obliged to provide the vehicle verification service, there are municipalities where this is not even mandatory. So I think we’re doing well, we’re close but we’re still a ways off.
(Forcing people) is complicated but not impossible. It is a scenario that we would all like to reach. I think that once it is more common to hear the verification, people will be a little more interested and there will no longer be that rejection of a sanction.”
BRIBE
When asked if they have detected cases where the verifiers grant the approval badge even when the process has not been passed, Franco mentioned that last year “There was a case that was reported to us by a citizen”.
In this regard, he explained that “the worker has already been removed” and that the municipal treasury supports in this sense, since it prints the payment receipt only once, which complicates the process of possible bribery.