In just a handful of months, drivers in San Antonio and across Bexar County will face a new hurdle before they can renew their registration. It may be a challenge for some to pass this new emissions inspection, but industry leaders are even more concerned about whether there will be enough inspection stations to handle the “wall” of customers.
Safety inspections in Texas may have been nixed, but San Antonio is joining a growing list of major metros that will require emissions inspections. It’s a federal mandate from the Environmental Protection Agency to reduce pollutants. But there’s been little urgency from state leaders, raising concerns about long lines and customers being turned away come November.
“We have a unique set of circumstances and potential challenges that we’re going to have to overcome, none of which our state has seen in decades and decades and decades,” Charissa Barnes, president and owner of Texas Tag & Title (formerly Official Inspection Station), tells MySA. “If we don’t have enough inspection stations, then the stores that are able to perform inspections will have longer lines.”
The Texas Department of Transportation currently lists just over 250 sites across Bexar County. Although that number has grown exponentially in recent weeks and may continue to do so, it’s still far from the number needed.
DPS notes that nearly 300 companies are certified to perform emissions inspections in Travis County, which has a smaller population than Bexar County by more than 500,000 people. According to Barnes, there are roughly 350 inspection stations. Yet Austin needs another 150 to 250 emissions inspection sites to make the process more manageable, says Barnes.
That paints a harrowing picture for Day 1 across San Antonio. Even more alarming, Barnes – who has been involved in the auto-inspection industry for decades – says that about 20% to 30% of the companies certified to perform these inspections may not be operating on November 1.
“There are people who intend to join the program, but they sit back on the sidelines, and they wait to see how things are going to shake out. Or they have applied, and they have part of the process, not the entire process,” Barnes says. “We have heard from some of our colleagues that they don’t intend to offer inspections any longer.”
The issue is two-fold, at least. With the number of certified inspection locations dwindling, sites may be overloaded once the new mandate goes into effect. When people see these long lines, Barnes says, they turn around, planning to get it done another day. Often, that day never comes, she says.
Further, long lines mean angry customers who make angry phone calls. This holds up already busy employees as they try to make their way through the inspection process.
These concerns are compounded by the fact that this new inspection process will require some folks to make costly repairs. A check engine light is an automatic failure, and resetting the light won’t do the trick. Certified inspectors will run a diagnostic test to pinpoint the core issue rather than simply checking for the light.
To avoid surprises or delays to your vehicle registration, Texas Tag & Title is offering a prescreening on June 26. To sign up, visit the company website and fill out the form to attend. A follow-up email will be sent with the exact details.