Prayagraj: Ensuring safety of commuters, the transport department has made the installation of Vehicle Location Tracking Device (VLTD) and panic button mandatory for all the commercial vehicles. As per the rule, from April onwards, fitness certificates will not be issued to any commercial vehicle lacking these mandatory safety features. The new rule will apply to all commercial vehicles—buses, trucks, taxis and school vans. ARTO (administration) Rajeev Chaturvedi said that while new commercial vehicles come with the tracking devise and panic button installed at manufacturing stage, the rule will be strictly enforced on the older vehicles as well. “Vehicle owners must get the safety devices installed through authorised agencies and link them to the department’s portal,” said the ARTO.In case of any emergency, passengers can alert the control room by pressing the panic button and the tracking device will help in real-time tracking of the vehicle’s location. Officials said that vehicles found lacking active devices after the deadline would not be given the fitness certificate.The move will help strengthen road safety standards, particularly for women, schoolchildren and long-distance bus travellers, and emergency response mechanisms across the district, said the officials. An RTO drive conducted in July 2025 revealed that most of the school vehicles lacked functional tracking and panic devices. Meanwhile, after Prayagraj the fitness inspections are no being conducted in Mirzapur and Pratapgarh.
