Vehicle exhaust has long been regarded as a major source of air pollution in Hong Kong. In view of the situation, regulations have been tightened. Under the Air Pollution Control Ordinance of 1994 and 1995, the standard for exhaust emissions has become more stringent. The use of unleaded petrol and of catalytic converters for petrol vehicles are now compulsory and a lower sulphur content diesel fuel and international emission standards have also been put into place for new diesel vehicles since 1994.

As the provider of service maintenance for the Government's 7,500 strong fleet of vehicles, we play a significant role in ensuring that emissions from the government fleet are reduced to a minimum. Activities include:

A programme of preventive and corrective maintenance ensures that all vehicles under our care meet the established regulations for vehicle emissions. Depending on the type of vehicle, its frequency of use and mileage incurred, all vehicles have scheduled maintenance checks regularly. The more heavily used the vehicle, the more frequently it is maintained. With the use of exhaust gas analysers and smoke meters, engine performance diagnosis for petrol and diesel engines is performed whenever necessary, ensuring effective performance of the engines being tested. A road test is also carried out before the vehicle is released. This ensures the road-worthiness of the vehicles, prevents future problems from developing and minimises any negative impact of government vehicles on the environment.

We also take a leading role in helping to limit the environmental impact brought about by the use of these vehicles by an active programme of consultancy in the purchase of new vehicles. We recommend the most appropriate vehicle in terms of optimal usage, product life cycle, energy consumption and emission levels. For example, legal compliance to emission standards and an asbestos free environment are now standard specifications in the purchase of new vehicles. Similarly, we have long advocated the reduction in the number of diesel vehicles in the government fleet.

As technical advisor to the Environmental Protection Department (EPD), we provide both constructive advice and technical support to EPD in vehicular related matters. EPD is currently carrying out a one-year trial using diesel catalytic converters to improve the emission rate in older diesel vehicles. We are working in conjunction with EPD on this project and have recently started the retrofitting of the converters onto 25 government vehicles for the trial.

Diesel : Petrol Vehicles Proportion
Public vs Government (as maintained by EMSD)