Date: January 1, 2018
Author(s): Gregory Pierce
Abstract
The San Joaquin Valley (SJV) in California is historically afflicted by poor air quality, in part due to the presence of two major interstate freeways, high dependency on light-duty vehicles, and the resulting transportation emissions. The SJV is home to a higher proportion of minority and low-income residents than the state as a whole. This report examines the performance of the Tune In & Tune Up (TI&TU) smog repair program, which has operated since 2005 in the San Joaquin Valley and is one of the first transportation programs to take both environmental and equity considerations into account. The program provides free smog checks for residents in the eight counties in the SJV. Owners of vehicles that do not pass emissions tests at TI&TU events receive vouchers for up to $850 in smog repairs. Using a variety of descriptive statistics and econometric methods, this report reviews and analyzes internal TI&TU program data from 2012 to 2017, conducting a thorough evaluation of the program with regard to program efficiency, equity, and environmental impact. We find that the program operates efficiently, not only adhering to eligibility requirements, but also affecting participation from residents of 97 percent of the census tracts in the Valley throughout this period. Multivariate regression analysis, using the internal TI&TU data as well as CalEnviroScreen 3.0 data, determined that the program distributed more financial benefits to neighborhoods with lower incomes, higher percentages of minority households, and greater environmental concerns than the regional average. Using methods developed by the California Air Resources Board for calculating emission reductions from pre- and post-repair measurements, we estimate a cost of $6,700 per ton of emissions reduced via the Tune In & Tune Up program.