|
Under the AirCheckTexas Drive a Clean Machine program, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is offering to help qualified owners replace their older, polluting vehicles. As many as 1.9 million households in 16 counties may be eligible for vouchers to help replace their older car or truck. Individual vouchers are in the amounts of $3,000 or $3,500, depending on the type and age of the replacement vehicle. All Texans who meet certain qualifications can apply. “We are making a concerted effort to get older, heavy-polluting vehicles either repaired or removed from the road,” said Chairman Buddy Garcia. “To that end, the Legislature approved $90 million this biennium. It is a significant expansion of our effort to reduce onroad emissions in certain areas not complying with federal standards for ozone.” To qualify for vouchers, motorists must have their vehicles registered in designated counties in the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, Dallas-Fort Worth, or Austin areas, and fit the income eligibility scale. For example, a Houston, DFW, or Austin area family of four with an annual net income of $61,950 can apply. The vouchers provide the following: - $3,000 for a car, current model year or up to three model years old
- $3,000 for a truck, current model year or up to two model years old
- $3,500 for a hybrid vehicle, current or previous model year
All of the vehicles being replaced will be scrapped to make sure they will no longer be used. As newer cars and trucks are bought each year, the overall Texas fleet gets cleaner. That’s because newer cars and trucks are equipped with high-tech emission controls. Any vehicle that is model 1996 or newer has the benefit of onboard diagnostics. Currently, 77 percent of the vehicles registered in the Houston, DFW, Austin, and El Paso areas are model 1996 or newer. This segment is expected to grow to 89 percent by 2010. (El Paso has not joined the Drive a Clean Machine program.) “What we’re doing is trying to speed up the process by helping owners of older vehicles buy cars and trucks that are at least a little cleaner,” said program coordinator Bob Wierzowiecki of TCEQ’s Air Quality Division. “Not everyone can afford a new car. But driving a new car, or a qualifying used car, is better for air quality than driving a vehicle that’s 10 years or older.” Thanks to technological advances, today’s new vehicles can be up to 98 percent cleaner than those produced 10 years ago, he added. With the state-funded incentives, 15,000 to 30,000 polluting vehicles could be permanently removed from Texas roads in the next two years, according to TCEQ estimates. Interested in the program? Call: (toll-free) 800-913-3321
|
