How to resolve AdBlock issue?
The program – called Vehicle Repair, Retirement and Replacement for Motorists or “VRRRM” – supplements already-existing vehicle emissions reduction programs in an effort to add momentum to the fight for clean air while increasing the number of California motorists eligible for such benefits.
Participating in VRRRM is simple. California motorists can visit www.vrrrm.org for eligibility guidelines and a formal application.
Those who qualify can then visit one of more than 200 participating Gold Shield Stations for a certified smog test.
Qualified consumers who fail the emissions portion of their smog inspection, and do not qualify for or have exhausted benefits from other existing vehicle repair or replacement programs, may receive up to $800 for approved emissions-related repairs.
Additionally, some motorists may be eligible to retire high-polluting vehicles with up to $3,500 toward the purchase of a newer model, more energy-efficient replacement vehicle.
Funding available for this program is made possible by a grant from the Reformulated Gasoline Settlement Fund.
Created as a result of an antitrust class action, the purpose of the fund is to achieve a clean air or fuel efficiency benefit for California consumers.
As such, VRRRM benefits California motorists and the general public without placing a financial burden on taxpayers.
“VRRRM represents the expertise and impact of a number of organizations all working together to enhance our state’s air quality without creating an additional tax burden for Californians, while at the same time providing valuable job training opportunities for community college students entering the automotive technician field,” said Foundation President and CEO Paul Lanning. “This is an exciting development for our colleges and for the people of California.”
Although motorists throughout the state are eligible to participate in this program, VRRRM places special emphasis in the Los Angeles and surrounding areas, known as the South Coast Basin, and portions of Central California, known as the San Joaquin Basin.
Air quality measurements reveal that these two basins are plagued by the most severe air quality attainment issues in the state and nation, and are the only two air districts in California that have failed to attain federal air quality standards. What's more, nearly half of all California vehicles are registered and operate within these two basins.
Approximately 10 percent of the light-and medium-duty vehicles are responsible for close to 50 percent of the vehicle emissions according to remote sensing studies conducted in the South Coast Air Basin and in other urbanized areas of the country, and it has been found that providing monetary incentives can provide a necessary and cost-effective enticement for retiring many older, higher-emitting vehicles.
The VRRRM program is the result of collaboration between numerous agencies, including the Foundation for California Community Colleges, which administers the program, the California Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR), California Air Resources Board (CARB), South Coast Air Quality Management District and the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District.
The foundation was selected to administer VRRRM due to the organization's statewide reach, and for its involvement in existing air quality programs. Currently, the foundation works closely with BAR to provide air quality testing and support through its statewide network of BAR Smog Check Referee Stations.
Through this program, 33 Smog Check Referee Centers located at California Community Colleges located throughout the state perform a variety of smog check services, and are staffed by Foundation Smog Check Referees and community college student technicians, providing students with valuable workforce training and experience for an in-demand trade.
For further details about VRRRM, please visit www.vrrrm.org.
