New Delhi: The ministry of road transport and highways mandated vehicle location tracking and emergency buttons to be installed in all public transport vehicles registered on or after January 1, 2019.

This does not include e-rickshaws and auto rickshaws.

Priyank Bharti, joint secretary, the ministry of road transport and highways said, “Vehicle tracking system in passenger vehicles will be made mandatory from 1st of January, 2019. The notification has been sent for publishing and will come into effect today (Wednesday). The notification will be issued for all new commercial vehicles and, for older vehicles, state governments may notify and it will be implementation-based”.

The Motor Vehicles (Vehicle Location Tracking Device and Emergency Button) Order, 2018 will apply to all public service vehicles specified under the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989.

The government has exempted all public vehicles registered up to December 31, provided that the concerned authorities will notify the date for compliance of requirements after the expiry of the time period.

A spokesperson for the ministry of road transport said, “The vehicle location tracking device manufacturers would assist in providing the back-end services for monitoring. The states can notify the date of implementation of vehicle location tracking and emergency button for older vehicles registered up to December 31, 2018. This is a regulation for the safety of passengers, especially women. The ministry has also notified the operational procedure for implementation of vehicle location tracking cum emergency buttons”.