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…