The CEO of the Central Technical Inspection Company of Tehran, Mohammad Mehdi Razazadeh, explained the measures taken to improve services at technical inspection centers in an interview with Hamshahri TV. Since the beginning of this year until September, nearly 560,000 vehicles have visited these centers, with 90 percent successfully receiving their technical inspection certificate on their first visit.
New Measures to Increase Citizen Visits
As we approach the second half of the year and anticipate an increase in visits, necessary measures have been taken to manage the peak visits and provide better services to citizens. Razazadeh stated that the equipment at some technical inspection centers dates back 15 to 20 years, and since 2021, a program to modernize the inspection lines has begun. With a budget of over one million dollars, 32 light vehicle inspection lines and 3 heavy vehicle lines were completely updated by the end of 2022.
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Increasing Capacity and Facilitating the Technical Inspection Process
During this period, the capacity of the technical inspection lines has been increased in accordance with the number of vehicles registered in Tehran, reaching a reception capacity of about 3.5 million vehicles. Additionally, 11 mobile technical inspection lines for vehicles and 3 motorcycle inspection lines have been added to the collection. Currently, a technical inspection center specifically for buses of the Tehran Urban Bus Company and a dual-lane technical inspection center for light vehicles in District 14 are under construction, expected to be operational in the second half of the year.
The operating hours of the technical inspection centers have also been extended, with about 80 percent of centers active on holidays. Furthermore, by providing online appointment scheduling through the Shahrzad system, citizens can receive technical inspection services in the shortest possible time.
Existing Challenges and the Need for Legal Review
However, the number of motorcycle owners visiting technical inspection centers is very low. Legal follow-ups and directing motorcycles to inspection centers could effectively increase their participation. Additionally, the existing fines for vehicles without a technical inspection certificate seem insufficient. It has been suggested that fines be continuously calculated from the expiration date of the technical inspection certificate to create more deterrence.
On the other hand, the cost of technical inspection for light vehicles is about 561,000 tomans and for motorcycles about 128,000 tomans. Given the high costs of modernizing equipment and providing services, technical inspection is not considered a profitable activity for the Tehran municipality. Moreover, the law regarding technical inspection, which was drafted about 15 years ago, needs to be revised.
In Tehran, oversight of the performance of technical inspection centers is the responsibility of a working group under the Ministry of Interior, and tests are conducted electronically and intelligently. However, there are still about 800,000 vehicles subject to technical inspection receiving inspections at centers around Tehran, which requires examination.
The Bihaki Technical Inspection Center, opened in the 1990s, is recognized as the first technical inspection center in the Middle East, and the Tehran Technical Inspection Headquarters, with 64 inspection lines, is considered the largest technical inspection complex in West Asia and North Africa.
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