Mobile Units Will Ease Technical Inspection of Vehicles in Tehran

The Tehran Vehicle Technical Inspection Bureau has unveiled its first mobile vehicle inspection unit with the aim of giving car owners in Tehran some solace when it comes to the mandatory annual inspection of their vehicles.

According to the bureau chief, Navab Hosseini, five units will start operating by March, the TVTIB website reported, and two more units will be added a month later.

The units will be stationed across different districts in the sprawling capital that is home to 12 million people and four million cars. The units are equipped with power generators and mobile communication devices through which they connect to the bureau’s online system.

Efficiency and mobility of the units will help reduce the toil of finding less crowded auto inspection centers in the ever-expanding capital. Drivers will be informed about the location and working hours of the units via the bureau’s website.

Husseini said the mobile units will offer services to cars and light commercial vehicles. “Each unit can inspect 300 vehicles a day,” he added.

After the inspections are complete, technicians stationed at mobile units will issue the certificates and stickers, which as a rule all vehicles in Iran are obliged to carry and show to the Traffic Police on demand. Failing to do so means violation of traffic laws and a traffic ticket. The police officer also has the option of impounding the vehicle.

Except for new cars that have a five-year exemption, vehicle owners are required to renew the inspection once a year. Public and commercial vehicles are required to be checked every six months.

The mandatory vehicle inspections have several purposes, namely curbing fuel consumption and improving air quality that has become a major concern in all big urban areas across the country. According to Iran’s Department of Environment, regular vehicle inspection helps reduce fuel consumption and air pollution by 12% and 20% respectively.

Proper maintenance of cars through regular technical inspections will not only reduce harmful emissions, but also improve vehicle performance, extending the life of the vehicle and safeguarding the environment as well as reducing potential risks to human life through road mishaps.

However, lack of proper infrastructure and inspection centers have been a concern of the people for a long time.

Twenty officially registered vehicle inspection centers are active across Tehran. This is while reports say of the 4 million vehicles plying the capital’s clogged roads and freeways less than half a million have the technical inspection certificates.

To encourage drivers to get their vehicles inspected, the bureau launched an online booking system for technical inspection in October 2017, which according to Hosseini has significantly decreased the time drivers need to wait in queues to get their cars checked at the 20 designated inspection centers.

“Previously, drivers at times had to spend up to four hours at the inspection centers. Since the online service was launched the time has been decreased to one hour,” the TVTIB chief said.

Interested car owners can visit the website through the address inspecepion.tehran.ir to get a booking.

 Similar Moves

Relevant organizations in the energy sector have started to make their own contributions to programs related to vehicle inspections.

The Alternative Fuels Union, a state-backed body that promotes the consumption of cleaner fuels, such as CNG, introduced an online booking system last week for CNG cylinder tests.

Drivers can register with the website cngazmoon.com to find the nearest inspection center.

AFU says its online system helps reduce waiting time for having the CNG tanks checked. It also seeks to impede the activities of illegal garages doing the crucial tests without professional technicians.

According to the union’s secretary, Mohsen Mashayekhi, some 6 million CNG-powered vehicles commute on Iran roads. Statistics released by the Ministry of Industries shows that in the eight months to November 38,052 CNG hybrids were produced by local carmakers.