DRIVERS will shortly be paying more for an essential annual service.
The new fee will increase for cars, trucks, motorcycles and even trailers for the first time since 2017, said officials.
Hawaii’s vehicle safety inspection fees will rise by 75 cents in July[/caption]
The Hawaii Department of Transportation announced that it is rolling out a raft of price rises.
It issued an update on Monday, saying they will come into effect from July 1, 2025.
The fee for a Hawai‘i vehicle safety inspection will increase by 75 cents to $25.75 for automobiles and trucks.
And the price will also rise to $17.75 for motorcycles and trailers.
“This is the first fee increase for vehicle safety inspections since 2017,” it explained.
The changes apply statewide.
The department added, “The increase is needed to cover the vendor costs to administer and manage the safety check program, also known as the Periodic Motor Vehicle Inspection (PMVI) program.
“Under the new fee structure the share that goes to the contractor, Parsons Corporation, to operate the PMVI program will increase from $1.34 to $2.09.
“The HDOT will continue to collect $1.70 for administrative and enforcement purposes.”
It warned, too, that the fee to replace a destroyed or lost inspection sticker or certificate will also will increase by 75 cents.
So this means this service will rise from $6.34 to $7.09, $2.09 of which will be given to the contractor.
On average, 1.2 million safety inspections are conducted each year in Hawai‘i.
The aim of these vehicle safety inspections is to uncover potential safety issues to help prevent equipment failure that may result in a crash or stalled vehicle.
The fee changes follow a public consultation on the proposed hikes last December.
BUMPY ROADS
The announcement has provoked scores of questions and comments.
A driver asked on social media, “Why not start it in January because those of us whose safety inspection expires in July to December have to pay more, while January of June of 2025 paid less.”
Some mocked the changes, slamming it as “a good excuse to make more money.”
Others suggested that more money should be invested to improve the state’s roads.
A blog on Honolulu Civil Beat last February alluded to a “sea of stuck cars” thanks to “Honolulu’s infamous traffic jams” and added, “our physical infrastructure is simply inadequate to the demands of 21st century Hawaii.”
Speeding has been a major contributing factor in almost half of Hawai‘i’s traffic deaths in recent years, reported Hawaii Business magazine last May.
