The West Bengal Transport Department, enforcing the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways AIS-140 mandate, requires all public service vehicles registered in West Bengal to be fitted with a certified Vehicle Location Tracking Device. This applies to all taxis, auto-rickshaws on contract carriage, school buses, tourist vehicles, and goods carriers operating in the state. Compliance is verified at fitness certificate renewal, permit issuance, and during roadside inspections conducted by West Bengal Traffic Police and RTO enforcement officers.
Kolkata has a uniquely diverse commercial vehicle market. The city is home to India's most iconic taxi fleet, the yellow Ambassador cab, and a large and growing app-based cab market on Ola, Uber, and Rapido. Both categories are subject to AIS-140 VLTD requirements. West Bengal has been actively transitioning its yellow taxi fleet to app-based platforms and GPS-tracked vehicles, making VLTD installation a practical requirement for operators on either platform. Howrah, directly across the Hooghly River from Kolkata, generates significant additional taxi and goods vehicle activity as one of India's busiest transit hubs.
Siliguri is a strategically important city in North Bengal, serving as the gateway to Darjeeling, Sikkim, and the Northeast Indian states. Siliguri's unique geographic position generates a very large tourist taxi and permit vehicle market serving hill station circuits, Darjeeling tea estate tourism, and transit vehicle operations through the Chicken's Neck corridor to Northeast India. All of these vehicle categories fall under West Bengal RTO VLTD compliance requirements.
