Tamil Nadu floats EOI to fit trackers on public transport
The notification, released on September 4, states that the interested manufacturers must submit applications by October 22, and the bids will be opened on the same day at the Transport Commissionerate in Guindy.
CHENNAI: The Commissionerate of Transport and Road Safety has called for Expressions of Interest (EOI) from VLTD manufacturers to install them.
The initiative, aligned with the Automotive Industry Standard AIS-140, aims to enhance passenger safety and ensure real-time monitoring of buses, taxis, school vehicles, and goods carriers.
The notification, released on September 4, states that the interested manufacturers must submit applications by October 22, and the bids will be opened on the same day at the Transport Commissionerate in Guindy. The process will be governed by the Tamil Nadu Transparency in Tenders Act, 1998, and the Tamil Nadu Transparency in Tender Rules, 2000.
Real-time tracking of vehicles and provision of emergency buttons, to ensure swift responses during mishaps, are mandatory under the AIS-140 standard. The system is aimed at enhancing safety, improving traffic management and ensuring accountability of transport operators.
According to the EOI, the mandate will apply to buses, school buses, stage carriages, All India Tourist Permit vehicles, private service vehicles, all types of taxis, maxi cabs, and goods carriers, including water tankers and petroleum tankers, except those not covered by permit. The Transport Department has retained the option of including other categories of vehicles under the scheme in line with prevailing rules.
Manufacturers intending to participate must hold valid type approval and conformity of production certificates from agencies accredited by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH). They must also establish retrofitment centres in all 38 districts and service and support centres in all 12 transport zones. Upon empanelment, fitment centres are required at all 91 Regional Transport Office jurisdictions within 30 days.
The Commissionerate has stipulated that devices must be integrated with the State’s Command and Control Centre to enable live monitoring. Vehicle data will be transmitted to the backend application at regular intervals, while panic buttons will raise alerts to the Emergency Response Support System.
Each manufacturer is required to submit a performance guarantee of Rs 25 lakh, in addition to a bank guarantee of Rs 5 lakh for every service and support centre. A registration fee of Rs 25,000 has been fixed for the first device model, and Rs 10,000 for each additional model.
The initiative comes in the backdrop of the union government mandate making VLTDs with emergency buttons compulsory in public transport vehicles, a measure introduced following the Nirbhaya incident. The State Transport Department has emphasised that the move is part of a wider effort to improve road safety through education, enforcement, engineering and emergency care.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
A retrofitment centre must be established in every district
A service and support centre across all 12 transport divisions
Each VLTD manufacturer must submit a performance guarantee of Rs 25 lakh and an additional Rs 5 lakh bank guarantee per service centre
Tracking devices to be linked to state command centre for real-time monitoring and assistance
