Driving an old car will be expensive, preparation to cut your pocket in the name of fitness test
New Delhi. The government is planning to withdraw more money from the pockets of people owning old vehicles. If you have a car that is more than 20 years old, then now you may have to spend ₹ 2,600 to get its fitness test done. At the same time, owners of trucks and buses older than 15 years may have to pay ₹ 25,000 for this.
In fact, the Road Transport Ministry has proposed a huge increase in the fees for the fitness test. Till now there was not so much expenditure for private vehicles, but when the new rules are implemented, it will be mandatory to conduct fitness test of every old vehicle and its cost will increase many times more than before. This will have a direct impact on the pockets of common vehicle owners.
Why will expenses increase?
According to a report in Times of India, till now the rules for fitness test of private vehicles were not so strict. On completion of 15 years of registration, the RTO used to give fitness certificate after seeing the vehicle. But now it is proposed that after completion of 15 years, every private vehicle will have to undergo real technical fitness test. This test will be conducted on automated machines so that the actual condition of the vehicle can be known.
The government says that the purpose of this step is to discourage people from keeping old vehicles on the road. Old vehicles cause more pollution and sometimes become the cause of road accidents. The ministry believes that when the test fees increase so much, people will leave their old vehicles and move towards buying new vehicles.
Truck and bus owners are most affected
The impact on commercial vehicles will be much greater than on private vehicles. According to the proposal, different fees will be fixed for commercial vehicles older than 10, 13, 15 and 20 years. Till now the fitness fees for vehicles older than 15 and 20 years were the same, but now the fees for vehicles older than 20 years will be doubled.
Commercial vehicle owners are already facing the brunt of rising prices of petrol and diesel and taxes. In such a situation, such a high cost of fitness test can prove costly for them. Especially for small truck and bus owners, who have limited income.
What are the rules so far?
Commercial Vehicles: Fitness test every two years for eight years, then every year thereafter.
Private Vehicle: Fitness test at the time of registration renewal after 15 years and then every five years.
