New Delhi: New buses, including inter-city and sleeper coaches, will not be registered by Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) without a physical and video inspection of all mandatory safety features, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari announced on Tuesday. He also urged bus manufacturers to switch to alternative fuels, stating that there is no future for vehicles running on petrol and diesel due to air pollution and the prevailing global situation.
New Compliance Regime
Under the new regime, vehicle manufacturers, bus body builders, and the respective RTO will have to upload a completed checklist on the government's Vahan portal. This move is aimed at eliminating any scope of passing the buck in the event of a mishap due to missing safety features. In recent incidents, entities have often shifted responsibility onto others.
Speaking at Busworld India, Gadkari emphasized that the government will not compromise on passenger safety. He highlighted that 142 lives were lost and 200 others were injured in 12 bus accidents in the past six months. He warned the industry, saying, Do good work or wind up your business.
Checklist and Legal Framework
Gadkari stated that the checklist will be specific to each individual bus. The Times of India has learned that to make it legally binding, the road transport ministry will notify this under the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, and a draft notification will be issued soon.
The checklist will include fire detection, alarm and suppression systems, the required number of fire extinguishers, a minimum mandatory number of exit doors without any obstruction, and an emergency hammer at every berth in sleeper coaches, among other features. An official said, At every stage, accountability will be fixed after this new regime is rolled out.
At a review meeting in December on bus fires, Gadkari was informed that out of about 60 sleeper buses registered with RTOs since September 2025, when the new Bus Body Code came into effect, only a few had received type approval.
Support for Bus Body Builders
Taking note that over 600 manual bus body builders employing nearly 75,000 personnel may be impacted under the new regime of mandatory type approval from testing agencies, Gadkari announced that testing charges by ARAI have been reduced by 50%, and the processing timeline has been brought down to six weeks from the earlier eight weeks. We are not against you, but safety is a major concern, the minister said.
