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 the 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 the fitness certificate renewal for heavy, medium and light motor vehicles that ferry goods and passengers from October 1, 2024.
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 the 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.
The official said that under the 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 have to be scrapped," the official added.