On October 1st, Pennsylvania's enhanced emission inspection program was put into effect, much to the dismay of local residents.

PennDOT officials said they expect to soon add 100 stations to the 1,000 already set up for the inspections, and believe that they have a sufficient number of stations will be available this month to handle demand for inspections.

The new federally mandated program began Oct. 1 and has caused headaches for drivers and inspection stations when software necessary for the new tests wasn't delivered on time and the telephone link for data transfers between the stations and Harrisburg wasn't established.

Delays have created long and agonizing waits at garages. In response to the somewhat overwhelming public complaints, some legislators have called for the program to be delayed for six months, a move PennDOT said would not be necessary. According to the Tribune-Review, PennDOT has promised customer availablity coupled with a fair choice of where the safety inspection is performed.

Westmoreland, Allegheny, Beaver and Washington counties continue to have new emission programs set in place. To follow suit are Philadelphia, Bucks, Montgomery, Chester and Delaware counties in southeastern Pennsylvania.

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