Motorcycles cause 22 percent of air pollution in Tehran

TEHRAN, July 1 (MNA) – Motorcycles are responsible for around 22 percent of Tehran’s air pollution, said the director of Tehran’s cars technical center, an environmental regulator. Seyyed Ali Rezai told a press conference that of the 3.7 million motorcycles operating in Tehran, only 1500 get serviced for efficiency each year. He said there is no law obliging motorcycles to have such services. Experts say that some motorcycles can produce four to 8 times more air pollution than cars. Rezavi also said there are still no laws addressing noise pollution by vehicles, adding the center is ready to test vehicles for noise pollution if a rule is passed in this regard. The director of the cars technical center said that services for busses have been reduced from twice to once a year and that taxis’ check-ups have been reduced from once every three months to once a year. The parliament passed a law in May 2011 stipulating that new cars should be checked against environmental standards every five years rather than the existing regulation of every two years, a move that surprised environmentalists. The environment committee of the Tehran Municipality protested the ratification of the law by the Majlis. Razavi said the center had sent a letter to the Majlis legal committee asking the new parliament to amend the law. He went on to say that during the years 1387 to 1389 (March 2008- March 2010) 1.18 million cars were tested against environmental standards every year. Last year the figure dropped to 770,000 each year.