E-Paper
Chandigarh: Plying public vehicles without tracking device to invite fine from April 1
As per Chandigarh STA’s record, there are around 5,500 public service vehicles, including public buses, school buses and cabs, in the city, but only around 2,100 have installed the vehicle tracking device so far
Come April 1, the State Transport Authority (STA) will start challaning public service vehicles that are plying without a vehicle location tracking (VLT) device and panic button.
As per STA record, there are around 5,500 public service vehicles, including public buses, school buses and cabs, in the city, but only around 2,100 have installed the device so far.
The STA had rolled out implementation of the VLT and EA (vehicle location tracking and emergency alert) project on June 30, 2022. However, it kept the challaning drive on hold to first create awareness about the system.
A senior STA official said while the mounting of the VLT device was ensured for new vehicles at the time of fitness check, in the case of old vehicles, owners needed to get it installed from vendors empanelled with the Union ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH).
In 2018, MoRTH had notified the Motor Vehicle (location tracking device and emergency button) order, and made it mandatory for all public service vehicles to be fitted with location tracking device and emergency alert buttons under Rule 125 (H) of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules.
A GPS-enabled system, VLT allows for real-time tracking of a vehicle’s location, helping make travel in public vehicles a lot safer, especially for women and children. As soon as a passenger presses the panic button, an alert with real-time location of the vehicle will reach the Integrated Command and Control Centre of Chandigarh. The VLT & EA portal also helps passengers track the arrival and departure timings, route taken and speed.
