Though vehicle testing fee might drop,
new vendor plans an array of new services

NASHVILLE - Metro's fee for auto emissions testing might be dropping by $1, but the company that will begin overseeing the program in July plans to implement many service improvements, including acceptance of checks and credit cards.

Other improvements that SysTech International plans to implement during its first few months of operation in Nashville include technology that monitors the customer load at each of six stations, additional operating bays to shorten the wait, greeters who will gather information electronically while motorists are in line during peak periods, and the upgrading of inspection stations from an appearance and landscaping standpoint.

"The Health Department chose SysTech over other vendors because the company's bid proposal had a very customer friendly focus at a better price," said Stan Romine, the Metro Public Health Department's interim administrative director. "New and additional services will be coming on line over the next several months that I believe motorists will appreciate."

County Court Clerk John Arriola also is working with SysTech toward eventually offering a "one-stop shopping" service through which Nashville motorists can get their car tested and secure their Metro tax sticker without making two stops, as is the case now. Under the current system, citizens must go to a testing station, pass the test, and then go to one of the clerk's offices to present the passing grade and buy their annual sticker.

"SysTech prides itself on offering the best technology available to minimize the time motorists must devote to getting their vehicles tested," said Paul Cherepinsky, who will oversee the Nashville system for SysTech.

Cherepinsky said the six stations currently used in Nashville for automobile testing have been acquired by SysTech and will continue serving customers. He also said the company will landscape and upgrade the stations to improve their appearance.

Details about the other improvements include:

• The eventual addition of one more bay at each of three stations. SysTech is studying which stations are most in need of the extra bays. Four of the six stations in use now have two bays each and are candidates for additions.
• The introduction of greeters at stations during peak periods, such as at the beginning and end of each month when many motorists get their vehicles tested. The greeters will be equipped with a hand-held wireless scanner that will record key information about the vehicle and send it to a computer in the station, thereby saving time when the customer reaches the service bay.
• A provision in SysTech's Metro contract calls for the availability of up to six mobile testing units which can serve large-volume customers or add testing capacity at the existing facilities, thereby cut the waiting time at the permanent stations. An example of their use would be to have them visit car dealerships and test vehicles on-site, rather than those vehicles needing to visit a station.
• The installation of license plate reading machines at each station to monitor customer waiting times. Expected to be installed during the first few months of SysTech's tenure, the machines will read the plates on a vehicle as it enters the station and thereby start a clock to monitor the customer's waiting time. The clock would stop when an attendant gathers the motorist's vehicle information and starts the test.
• SysTech plans to eventually provide up-to-the-minute waiting time information over the Internet so customers can check to see how busy a station is before they drive to the location for a test.
• The acceptance of checks and credit cards expands a system that for nearly two decades has accepted only cash from customers. Cherepinsky said this is another example of SysTech's effort to better serve its new Nashville customers.
• The institution of a hotline system where customers can call for information, offer suggestions or to complain about problems.

The Metro Board of Health voted recently to recommend to the Metro Council a reduction in the auto emissions testing fee from $10 to $9 to pass along some of the savings from SysTech's contract to citizens. The Council must still decide whether to implement that fee reduction when it reviews the mayor's budget.