Bengaluru: The Transport Department has made it mandatory for all buses and trucks to install GPS-enabled tracking system that will prevent misuse of permits, improve the safety of women and children and crack down on those evading taxes.
The rule came into effect from Tuesday. All public/passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles with national permits have to install AIS-140 device, which is a certified vehicle tracking system developed by BSNL, and an emergency button. They have also been made mandatory to obtain a vehicle registration / fitness certificates from any RTOs across the country.
Respective RTO officials will ensure compliance and also track vehicles on the National Vehicle Tracking Portal.
A government-appointed data centre will register details of vehicles which will allow their tracking. This information can be accessed by the police if need be. Prior to this, only certain private operators kept track of their vehicles.
The portal allows officials to capture the device information along with vehicle and chassis numbers, and integrate it with Vahan Portal. Once the details are integrated, the government can monitor the movement of vehicles and their location. Officials can get alerts if the vehicles are speeding and notifications if the emergency button is pressed.
The order follows a notification from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
