The transport ministry has drafted a plan it hopes will encourage trucking companies to use low-emission vehicles and reduce engine idling, ministry sources said Sunday.

Under the plan, companies would set a target date for acquiring trucks that emit less pollutants into the environment and use a state guideline to evaluate their own progress toward converting their fleets, the sources said. The plan will be implemented on a trial basis in June, with the guidelines to be completed by the end of fiscal 2001, on March 31, 2002.

To monitor and evaluate the progress of each firm, the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry is considering establishing a third-party body that would rank the companies according to their progress.

The ranking would serve as the government's yardstick for the "green purchase" system, which will favor firms keen on using environmentally friendly vehicles in their contracts with central and local government bodies.

The system is scheduled to kick into full gear next month.

Evaluations will be based on efforts to introduce models that meet the latest exhaust gas emission standards and on efforts to service and regularly inspect vehicles to curb emissions of "particulate matter" contained in exhaust gases from diesel vehicles, according to the sources. The emissions are considered a health hazard.

Companies will also be urged to have their drivers reduce idling when their vehicles are not in motion, the sources said.

The guide will also cater to the needs of smaller companies, since 90 percent of the 5,200 trucking companies in Japan are small firms with fleets of 50 trucks or less, the sources said.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is planning to temporarily bar diesel-powered vehicles from making deliveries to it next month in an attempt to reduce pollution, a practice also being considered by the Osaka Prefectural Government.