Public Service Vehicles Ordered to Use Vehicle Location Tracking Devices

India’s Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has mandated that all new public service vehicles except auto rickshaws and eRickshaws, registered on and after 1st January 2019, will have to be equipped with Vehicle Location Tracking (VLT ) with emergency buttons.

The VLT device manufacturers would assist in providing the backend services for monitoring. This regulation is being brought in to ensure safety of passengers especially women.

In case of older public service vehicles – those registered up to 31^st December, 2018, the respective State / UT Governments will notify the date by which these vehicles have to install VLT device and panic buttons. The Ministry has sent an advisory to the states in this regard.

The Ministry has also notified the operational procedure for implementation of VLT-cum-emergency buttons. The State or Union Territories are required to ensure execution of this order and check fitment and functional status of the VLT device in the public service vehicles at the time of checking of the vehicles for fitness certification.

The details of each VLT device will be uploaded on the VAHAN database by the VLT device manufacturer using its secured authenticated access. The VLT device manufacturers or their authorized dealers will install the VLT devices in public service vehicles and register the devices along with details of vehicle on the corresponding backend systems in real-time.

The public service vehicle owners have to ensure that the VLT devices installed in their vehicles are in working condition and regularly send required data to the corresponding backend system through cellular connectivity.

The State or Union Territories will publish Internet Protocol address (IP address) and Short Message Service Gateway (SMS gateway) details of their respective emergency response system where VLT devices will send the emergency alerts on press of the emergency button.