Mykedynamics wrote:
Thank you griff! Too bad California doesn't run that way...they're making a killing out here!
Eric
So, the smog test stations are owned, staffed, and operated by the state? If so, I imagine there's also a large bureaucracy for overseeing those stations.
The people of Alaska made it clear they didn't want to have to sit through another long line/waiting period to get an IM test, to only have to spend more time sitting in the DMV waiting room to get their plates and registration. They also objected to the possibility of the state adding a lot of bureaucrats to run the program and technicians to perform the tests to the state payroll, especially if some of the technicians would be sitting idle -- but still on the clock -- waiting for people to come in for a test.
In response to this resistance, someone realized there were a lot of commercial places, already servicing and repairing vehicles, that could do the test just as well. So, the state created a much, much, much smaller bureaucracy to oversee the program, hired a few more people to certify commercial test stations and technicians, and a few state-operated facilities for difficult cases.
Businesses got to grow and diversify their operation (with more customers), technicians who were certified got a pay raise, and people didn't have to wait for a test that usually only took 15-20 minutes. (If one station was backed up, there was usually another nearby.)
Initially, people had to get the test and then take the test results to DMV to finish their registration. Eventually, the state also handed the registration function off to some the IM stations, with those businesses charging a small added fee for the service, while heavily advertising the convenience of the added service.
Somewhere during the program's existence, a few stations initiated a "no pass, no pay" policy and most of the other stations had to follow suit just to keep up and avoid losing customers.
