Transport authorities make speed governors mandatory for all taxis

PUNE: No speed governors, no fitness certificates. The regional transport office's (RTO) message to cab operators in the city is loud and clear.
The RTO's decision comes in the wake of an order towards this direction from the Union transport ministry last week.Senior officials at the Pune RTO said preparations were on to implement the order and ensure that the cab owners adhere to the new norms.
“No new cab in Pune will get the fitness certificate unless the speed governor is installed.In case of old vehicle, the RTO will check the fitness certificate at the time of renewal. If the speed governor is not installed, the fitness certificate will not be issued,“ deputy regional transport officer Vinod Sagare told TOI on Wednesday.
Another official said cab owners who have queries should approach the RTO for help.“The speed governor is becoming a must and there can't be any exemption,“ he said.
The road transport ministry has made installation of speed governors in cabs and taxis mandatory to limit their speed at 80kmph. The notification was issued recently to comply with the Karnataka HC order of February 2016.
The norm has not gone down well with the cabbies in Pune. “It's a bad decision,“ said Anant Songire, owner of the Classic Taxi Services that primarily functions to and from the airport.
“We run around 200 taxis.Most of our cars have got fitness certificates for now and will not need to renew those for at least a month. But when it comes to installation of speed governors, I don't understand how it will help,“ he said.
“We have speed trackers in the cars. If any driver speeds, we get alerts and inform him immediately . Under no circumstances our drivers cross the 80kmph mark. We are in talks with our unions and look forward to an amicable solution,“ Songire added.
An Ola official refused to comment on the issue, saying they needed to check details of the new regulation. Queries sent to Uber remained unanswered till late evening.
Shahid Shaikh, who drives apre-paid taxi from the airport, said he was clueless about the new rule. “If the spepd governor has to be installed, I would like to know the cost and the way to install it. The RTO's order has, however, come all of a sudden,“ he said.