Nearly 82 per cent of public transport vehicles in Delhi-NCR are plying without fitness certificates, 78 per cent do not have registration certificates, and 79 per cent are running without pollution certificates, says a survey by industry body Assocham.
The survey comes at a time when questions are being raised on the recent brutal gang-rape inside a private bus in Delhi, which was plying without a permit.
The survey, undertaken by the chamber in December 2012 to check traffic safety norms, also found that majority of drivers of school buses, cabs, tempos, cars in the city did not have valid driving licenses.
About half of the respondents were in the age bracket of 25-29 years, followed by 30-39 years (25 per cent), 40-49 years (15 per cent), 50-59 years (10 per cent). A total of 2,000 vehicles were checked as part of the drive, the survey says.
In another trend reflecting negligence by the authorities concerned, the survey found that 55 per cent of drivers were below the age of 18 years, raising questions about the safety of people.
Assocham suggested that Delhi-NCR traffic authorities should centralise the database of vehicle registration and ‘smart card-based’ driving licenses to trace the ownership of a vehicle involved in an act of crime.
Releasing the survey here on Wednesday, D.S. Rawat, Secretary General of the chamber, said drunk driving, drinking and loitering, driving with tinted glass and other unlawful activities should be dealt firmly and all public transport should install GPS devices.
He said enforcement alone was not the solution and there was need for proper awareness to change the road culture in the region.