GPS order shapes distraction, cab registrations take a hit

Bengaluru, Feb 15: As the demand for cabs has been pushed up, particularly luxury ones, by the Aero India 2019. The registrations of new taxis in the city have taken a hit.

The ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) has mandated vehicle location tracking (VLT) devices and emergency buttons in all public transport vehicles, including buses and taxis registered from January 1, 2019. However, taxi unions say the transport department is ill-equipped to implement the rule.

The state government recently wrote to the Centre seeking extension of the deadline to July 31. "Infrastructure establishment and legal provisioning would require some more time. Hence, it is requested that six more more (up to July 31, 2019) be granted to implement the notifications and guidelines as issued by MoRTH." deputy secretary (transport department) K Beeresh's letter to MoRTH read.

K Radhakrishna Holla, president of Bangalore Tourist Taxi Operators’ Association said: “The transport department is not registering new taxis without VLT. Many tourist operators are struggling because of the new rule. The new vehicles will miss the opportunity to serve the important event due to the delay.”

L Hemanth Kumar, additional transport commissioner, told a source that, they haven’t received any direction from NoRTH or the state government on this so far. “We will extend the deadline once we receive a notification,” he added. However, the transport department is yet to set up a command and control centre to monitor movement of vehicles.