CHENNAI: The Commissionerate of Transport and Road Safety would soon be inviting tenders to appoint transaction advisors for setting up the 18 automated testing stations (ATS) on public-private partnership mode across the State.

According to a senior official of the Commissionerate, the automated testing stations should be set up to roll out fitness certificate renewal facility for heavy, medium, and light motor vehicles that ferry goods and passengers from October 1, 2024.

The official said that as part of fitness testing, the vehicles would undergo 37 tests and of which 20 to 24 are automated tests. “As of now, the fitness testing is done manually. Under automated testing, if any vehicle fails the test, it would be given a chance to appeal against it. If it fails again, the vehicle has to be scrapped,” the official added.

The Centre has extended the deadline for mandatory fitness testing through the ATS from April 1, 2023, to October 1, 2024. As per the earlier deadline, heavy goods and passenger vehicles needed to obtain fitness certificates from ATS from April 1, 2023, onwards. Medium goods and passenger motor vehicles and light motor vehicles (transport) needed to get the fitness certificates through ATS from June 1, 2024, onwards.

The Transport Department has planned to set up ATS under the Regional Transport Offices in Coimbatore (North), Dindigul, Erode (East), Madurai (South), Namakkal (North), Ramanathapuram, Red Hills, Salem (West), Sriperumbudur, Srirangam, Tambaram, Thanjavur, Thoothukudi, Tindivanam, Tirunelveli, Tirupur (North), Vellore, and Virudhunagar.

Under automated testing, if any vehicle fails the test, it would be given a chance to appeal against it. If it fails again, the vehicle has to be scrapped – Senior official, Commissionerate of Transport and Road Safety