The Office of the Ombudsman has initiated a direct investigation into the implementation of “Strengthened Emission Control for Petrol and Liquefied Petroleum Gas Vehicles” in April 2015. The Ombudsman has pinpointed the public concerns on different emission standards applied by the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) and the Transport Department (TD). Also, the Ombudsman has laid stress on limited capacity of test centres and various constraints on dynamometer-installation.

Civic Exchange submitted a document to welcome and support the Ombudsman’s direct investigation but urge the Ombudsman to examine the matter from the perspective of overall inspection and maintenance programme in Hong Kong and take the cross-bureaux nature into account. Civic Exchange provided our recommendations in three areas: 1) the strengthened control by the EPD, 2) the annual examination by the TD, and 3) the qualification of vehicle maintenance industry by the EMSD.