BRTA plans to outsource fitness certificates of vehicles

Bangladesh Road Transport Authority revives plan to outsource checking and issuing of fitness certificates to designated motor workshops

With the renewed call for road safety because of the student-led protest, the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA)—the custodian of the country’s vehicles—has revived a five-year-old plan that was stuck in red tape.

The transport regulator, at a meeting on Monday, decided to start working on outsourcing the checking and issuing of vehicle fitness certificates to designated motor workshops, a plan BRTA first took back in 2013.

In the last few days, the transport regulator has witnessed increased applications for fitness certificate renewal.

Officials of the BRTA said as the government gets more serious about not allowing any vehicles without updated papers on a vehicle’s fitness, the flurry of applicants is expected to grow in the coming days.

The BRTA currently has 41 inspectors, who are burdened to examine the fitness of over 20 lakh vehicles in the country. This has reduced the exercise to a mere formality.

Talking to The Independent, the BRTA's director of engineering, Md Nurul Islam, said: “With the current manpower that we have, it’s not possible to check the fitness of all the vehicles properly.”

He also said many people feel reluctant to bring their vehicles for fitness renewal as there are almost always long lines.

So, to give the people a hassle-free way of getting their fitness licence renewed, the BRTA has decided to give mandates of checking and issuing fitness certificates of a vehicle to the designated motor workshops, added the BRTA official.

Back in 2012, the transport regulator amended Rule 70 of the Ordinance and included Sub-section 70-A, which states that the licensing and registration of motor workshops should be done by the BRTA in accordance with the existing number of vehicles.

On March 2, 2012, the BRTA took over the authority to issue motor workshops trade licences and registrations. Previously, the commerce ministry used to issue trade licences for motor workshops, while the related municipal or metropolitan authorities would do the registration.

MD Nurul Islam said not every motor workshop would be given permission to check the fitness of every kind of vehicle. “The BRTA will issue the licences and registrations to motor workshops as per their capacity and compatibility,” he added.

Motor workshops will be categorised into three sections—A, B, and C. “A-grade workshops will have the capacity to check the fitness of heavy vehicles such as buses, trucks, lorries, and minibuses. B-grade workshops will have the capacity to handle SUVs and sedans, while C-grade workshops will have the capacity to handle motorcycles and auto-rickshaws,” Nurul Islam said.

The BRTA director also said each category of workshops must have enough space to accommodate at least five vehicles of the type they would handle. “The motor workshops will be categorised and given the mandate to check the fitness of vehicles only after the transport regulator is certain about their capacity,” he added.

He further said that the capacity would  include adequate equipment to check the fitness of motor parts and enough space to conduct test runs.

M Belayet Hossain, former president of the Bangladesh Automobile Workshop Owners’ Association, welcomed the move by the transport regulator. He said there are about 20,000 automobile workshops across the country. Of these, only some 800 are registered with their organisation.

“Some workshops illegally support car thieves by selling stolen vehicles and their parts. If the BRTA starts a drive against such workshops, this illegal operation would end. We will extend full support to the BRTA,” he added.

Hossain said several workshops were fully equipped to check the fitness of vehicles. “In many other countries, authorised workshops check the fitness of vehicles. The BRTA has conducted several meetings with us in this regard. We always said that we would be happy to cooperate,” he added.

 

BRTA plans to outsource fitness certificates of vehicles

Bangladesh Road Transport Authority revives plan to outsource checking and issuing of fitness certificates to designated motor workshops

With the renewed call for road safety because of the student-led protest, the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA)the custodian of the countrys vehicleshas revived a five-year-old plan that was stuck in red tape. The transport regulator, at a meeting on Monday, decided to start working on outsourcing the checking and issuing of vehicle fitness certificates to designated motor workshops, a plan BRTA first took back in 2013. In the last few days, the transport regulator has witnessed increased applications for fitness certificate renewal. Officials of the BRTA said as the government gets more serious about not allowing any vehicles without updated papers on a vehicles fitness, the flurry of applicants is expected to grow in the coming days. The BRTA currently has 41 inspectors, who are burdened to examine the fitness of over 20 lakh vehicles in the country. This has reduced the exercise to a mere formality. Talking to The Independent, the BRTAs director of engineering, Md Nurul Islam, said: With the current manpower that we have, its not possible to check the fitness of all the vehicles properly. He also said many people feel reluctant to bring their vehicles for fitness renewal as there are almost always long lines. So, to give the people a hassle-free way of getting their fitness licence renewed, the BRTA has decided to give mandates of checking and issuing fitness certificates of a vehicle to the designated motor workshops, added the BRTA official. Back in 2012, the transport regulator amended Rule 70 of the Ordinance and included Sub-section 70-A, which states that the licensing and registration of motor workshops should be done by the BRTA in accordance with the existing number of vehicles. On March 2, 2012, the BRTA took over the authority to issue motor workshops trade licences and registrations. Previously, the commerce ministry used to issue trade licences for motor workshops, while the related municipal or metropolitan authorities would do the registration. MD Nurul Islam said not every motor workshop would be given permission to check the fitness of every kind of vehicle. The BRTA will issue the licences and registrations to motor workshops as per their capacity and compatibility, he added. Motor workshops will be categorised into three sectionsA, B, and C. A-grade workshops will have the capacity to check the fitness of heavy vehicles such as buses, trucks, lorries, and minibuses. B-grade workshops will have the capacity to handle SUVs and sedans, while C-grade workshops will have the capacity to handle motorcycles and auto-rickshaws, Nurul Islam said. The BRTA director also said each category of workshops must have enough space to accommodate at least five vehicles of the type they would handle. The motor workshops will be categorised and given the mandate to check the fitness of vehicles only after the transport regulator is certain about their capacity, he added. He further said that the capacity would include adequate equipment to check the fitness of motor parts and enough space to conduct test runs. M Belayet Hossain, former president of the Bangladesh Automobile Workshop Owners Association, welcomed the move by the transport regulator. He said there are about 20,000 automobile workshops across the country. Of these, only some 800 are registered with their organisation. Some workshops illegally support car thieves by selling stolen vehicles and their parts. If the BRTA starts a drive against such workshops, this illegal operation would end. We will extend full support to the BRTA, he added. Hossain said several workshops were fully equipped to check the fitness of vehicles. In many other countries, authorised workshops check the fitness of vehicles. The BRTA has conducted several meetings with us in this regard. We always said that we would be happy to cooperate, he added.