Emissions cause harm however 'new' the bus

The front page article Stiffer Emission Tests For New Buses (August 29) intrigued me. I would have imagined that the older buses needed the stiffer tests (!) seeing that their engines through time have deteriorated in their performance and therefore potentially produce heavier emissions. The irony however is that emissions, whether from new or old buses, cause equal damage. There should not be any distinction between these two types of buses.

The ADT (also through the VRT tests) has the duty to control and reduce the noxious emissions and remove from our roads heavy exhaust-emitting vehicles. The available related/VRT telephone number is used by many, and reports of vehicles emitting such fumes are indeed being effected. However, I have not seen - and I am greatly interested in seeing - the number of such reports in the last two years (2006/2007) and how many of these reports were acted upon; the measures taken - whether any vehicles of whatever type (trucks, cars, buses) have been removed from the roads as a result of such tests; whether - after tests have been made - any vehicles took the appropriate remedial measures to ensure that their damaging exhausts were removed - and whether the ADT verified such repairs.

In this environment-conscious world - and Malta ranks very badly in this pollution area, also of concern in our drive for tourists - the ADT has a very important role: It is safeguarding the health of each and every one of us, not to mention other material damage to stonework etc. This role should be recognised and we should express our gratitude.

Providing the above statistics will help towards such appreciation and encourage the ordinary citizen to continue providing the relevant information.

I look forward to the requested feedback.