Bhavnagar is a city in the district Bhavnagar belonging to the Saurashtra region of the state of Gujarat. It is an important city for trading and has the world’s biggest ship-breaking yard. Road transportation is the main mode of transportation here. While commercial vehicles like buses are used for local transport, private auto-rickshaws are more common within the city. 

All commercial and private vehicles are registered at the Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) in Bhavnagar which provides other transport related services.

Services offered at RTOs in Bhavnagar:

• Conducting driving tests for issuing driver’s licence.

• Development of road conditions and transport.

• Ensuring road safety measures.

• Collection of road tax. 

• Issuing vehicle registration certificates and renewing them.

• Issuing and renewing vehicle permits for tourists.

• Conducting fitness tests for issuing fitness certificate to vehicles. 

• Issuing a No Objection Certificate for vehicle registration in another state

Bhavnagar RTO issues various types of driving licence for different types of vehicles used for varying purposes. Following are the licences provided by Bhavnagar RTO:

• Smartcard
• Driver’s licence
• Learner’s licence
• Driving permit
• International driving permit (IDP)

Bhavnagar provides two types of vehicle registrations:

• Temporary registration: The validity of this registration is seven to thirty days.

• Permanent registration: This is mandatory and should be completed before the expiry of the temporary registration.

The registration fees depend upon the type of vehicle and also on the seating capacity of the vehicle. The registration fees of various vehicles are listed below:

• Bikes- ₹250

• Light Motor Vehicle (LMV)/Three-wheeler/Quadricycle for private use- ₹600

• Light Motor Vehicle (LMV)/Three-wheeler/Quadricycle for commercial use - ₹1000.

• Medium passenger vehicle - ₹1000

• Medium good vehicle - ₹1000

• Heavy passenger vehicle - ₹1000

• Heavy goods vehicle - ₹1500

• Other vehicles – ₹3000

The fee of a duplication registration certificate is half the amount of the registration of the vehicle.

Bhavnagar follows the road tax norms of the state of Gujarat. Gujarat Road Tax is calculated separately for two-wheelers and four-wheelers, depending upon various parameters. These are discussed below.

Road Tax on Two-wheelers:

For new bikes or for bikes less than 8 years of age: 6% of the vehicle cost.

For bikes between 8 years and 15 years old: 15% of the vehicle cost.

For bikes older than 15 years: 1% of the vehicle cost.

For vehicles of seating capacity up to 3 persons: 2.5% of the vehicle cost.

For vehicles with seating capacity of 3 to 6 persons: 6% of the vehicle cost.

Road Tax on Four-wheelers:

For four-wheelers, jeeps, station wagons, taxis and LMV: 6% of the vehicle cost.

Depending upon the offence, the traffic fines are:

• Triple Riding on Two-vehicle: ₹500 

• Over Speeding: ₹1500 - ₹4000 (three-wheelers to HMV)

• Driving Under Influence: ₹10000 for first offence, ₹15000 for second offence

• Driving Without a Seatbelt: ₹500

• Driving While Using Mobile: ₹500 for first offence, ₹1000 for second offence.

It is mandatory to have a motor insurance before you start driving a vehicle in Bhavnagar. Third-party car insurance is compulsory while a comprehensive insurance policy is not. If you do not get your car insured and drive it on the road, you will have to pay a fine of ₹2000 for the first offence, and ₹4000, for the second time. 

As per a report, three National Highways (NH) were closed owing to heavy rainfall in 2022 in Gujarat. This led to severe traffic congestion on other roads that commuters use. Another report of 2022 cited an unfortunate accident in Bhavnagar that took four lives. 

This accident happened when a four wheeler vehicle collided with a dumper. The impact was so strong that it was hard to rescue the trapped people inside the cars.

An important campaign was the Gujarat Road Safety Authority Meeting. The Gujarat road safety authority took the initiative of examining black spots to determine the measures required to rectify them and reduce road accidents. 

The collector of Bhavnagar held a meeting with the RTO officials, members of the Gujarat road safety authority and other officials to come up with plans to help reduce accidents.

Furthermore, the MORTH undertook a 55 port connectivity road projects campaign. Among the 55 road projects, the Bhavnagar to Pipaliya road will boost the transport system of the city. This road will reduce the transportation cost and time and connect important economic places with ports. This will also provide connectivity to various tourist destinations.

The law and enforcement department arranged a road safety campaign in 2022 in Amarjyoti Saraswati International School. The officers educated the students about the traffic rules and why they need to follow them. They told the students about the consequences one might face for violating traffic rules.