Delhi, the capital city of India is also one of the most popular cities in the country. It is an amicable residential city as well as a popular tourist destination. The National Capital Region also known as Delhi NCR is the world’s second most populated metropolitan area. 

Thousands of vehicles run on the streets of Delhi every day making road safety an important concern. There are 13 RTO offices in Delhi that work collectively towards maintaining road safety and seamless traffic conditions in the city.

Users who wish to visit the official website of the Delhi RTO can click on the following link. The link will redirect the users to the website of Delhi RTO.

Delhi RTO Website: https://transport.delhi.gov.in/

The various functions of the RTO Offices in Delhi include:

• Ensure the enforcement of all the rules and regulations under the Motor Vehicles Act 1988

• Conducting driving tests.

• Issuing driver's licence, learner's licence, International Driving Permit and duplicate driving licence.

• Providing services like renewing driving licence and issuing duplicate driving licences.

• Conducting vehicle fitness checks and issuing vehicle fitness certificates.

• Issuing Vehicle Registration Certificates or RCs for different vehicles.

• Proving services like rectifying addresses in vehicle registration certificates.

• Issuing No Objection Certificates or NOCs for transfer of vehicle registrations.

• Availing vehicle ownership transfer.

• Issuing various types of vehicle permits.

• Issuing trade certificates.

• Levying and collecting road taxes and penalties.

• Controlling the pollution levels in vehicles.

Different types of driving license issued under RTO Delhi are as follows:

• Temporary Driving Licence

• Permanent Driving Licence

• International Driving Permit

The different types of vehicle registrations offered under RTO Delhi are:

• Permanent Registration

• Temporary Registration

After the registration process is complete, every vehicle is provided with a number plate. It is a penalised offence to drive without a number in any part of India. RTOs issue several types of number plates. The different types of number plates issued by the Delhi RTO are as follows: 

• Red Number Plate

• Blue Number Plate

• Yellow Number Plate 

• White Number Plate

• Green Number Plate

• Black Number Plate 

• Red Number Plate with the Indian Emblem

• Number Plate with an arrow pointing upwards

• Permanent RC

• Temporary RC

• Duplicate RC

• RC Renewal

Charges for vehicle registration under RTO Delhi are as follows:

• Charges for registration: ₹600 for all the vehicles

• Charges for hypothecation: ₹1500 for vehicles purchased on loan

• Charges for issuing number plates: ₹230 to ₹400; charges are the same for High-Security Registration Plates or HSRP number plates 

• Charges for temporary registration: ₹1200 to ₹1500; temporary registration of vehicles is valid only for a month

The road tax charges are calculated separately for two-wheelers, four-wheelers, commercial vehicles and goods-carrying vehicles. The road tax charges in Delhi are as follows:

• Charges for two-wheelers: ₹650 to ₹1990 annually 

• Charges for four-wheelers: ₹3815 to ₹ 11590 annually 

Motorcars above 2000 kg, are liable to pay an extra charge of ₹2000. 

• Charges for commercial vehicles: ₹305 to ₹1915 annually

For vehicles with a passenger capacity of more than 18 people excluding the driver and conductor, ₹280 is charged for every additional passenger. 

• Charges for goods-carrying vehicles: ₹665 to ₹3790

Vehicles exceeding the weight of 10 tonnes are liable to pay an additional amount of ₹470

The road tax is calculated on the basis of vehicle type, fuel type, price, age, purpose, weight, engine capacity, and passenger capacity of the vehicle. As every state has its own State Motor Vehicle Act, they impose Motor Vehicle Tax according to this. 

Every individual owning a vehicle is liable to pay tax at the time of issuing a vehicle registration and thereafter under section 3 of the Delhi Motor Vehicle Taxation Act 1962. 

Besides, the transportation system of Delhi highly depends on roads. Delhi has India's one of the highest densities of road network with a length of 1749 kilometres of road per 100 sq. km. 

Therefore, it demands more cost for maintenance and monitoring resulting in higher amounts of road taxes than other states.

The Indian government permits every citizen to check the details of a vehicle and its owner from the Parivahan website. However, you can use Digit's website and application to find vehicle owner details by registration number even faster. You can access the details of a vehicle owned by simply adding the registration number of the vehicle.

Here is a list of the certain sets of rules one should keep in mind while driving. These are to ensure road safety and the smooth movement of traffic.

• A helmet is mandatory while riding on two-wheelers (as well as pillion riders).

• Do not ride on a two-wheeler carrying more than 2 people including the rider.

• Avoid rash driving or overspeeding as it can lead to severe accidents.

• Carrying soft or hard copies of the vehicle or driver-related documents is crucial while driving.

• One must always follow lane discipline and never ride in a zig-zag pattern on streets.

• Always wear a seatbelt while driving a vehicle.

• Do not drive a vehicle in an intoxicated state.

• Always carry soft or hard copies of your vehicle or driving-related documents while driving.

• Do not use a mobile phone while driving as it causes accidents.

• Never park your car in a no-parking zone in Delhi.

• Avoid jumping signals, especially red lights and follow lane discipline to ensure road safety.

Not abiding by traffic rules will make vehicle drivers subject to penalties. Charges for breaking the different traffic rules are as follows:

• Charges for driving without having a valid licence: ₹5000

• Charges for driving an unregistered vehicle: ₹5000 for first-time offence; ₹10000 for repeated offence 

• Charges for obstructing the path of emergency vehicles: ₹10000 along with probable community service 

• Charges for driving under influence: ₹10000 for first-time offence, ₹15000 for repeated offence

• Charges for driving over the speed limit: ₹1000 to ₹2000 for Light Motor Vehicles; ₹2000 to ₹4000 for Heavy Motor Vehicles along with the probability of licence seizure 

Yes, it is mandatory to have vehicle insurance while driving in Delhi. Not having active vehicle insurance will make the vehicle owners subject to penalties. 

The penalty for a first-time offence is ₹2000 whereas repeating the offence will increase the penalty to ₹4000. 

When it comes to driving cars in Delhi, car insurance is essential. It protects an insurance holder against the expenses and liabilities of unfortunate car damage due to accidents. Therefore, being the city with the highest number of fatal accidents in the nation, one must get a car insurance policy beforehand. 

A few of the advantages of issuing a car insurance policy include:

• Personal Accident Cover: It provides coverage for the death or disability due to an accident. It only applies to the vehicle owner.

• Third-Party Liabilities: These cover expenses and liabilities due to damages to the third party.

• Larger Network of Garages: A renowned car insurance policy has a large network of garages to repair your car. The service provider will also manage the expenses of the garage.

• No Claim Bonus: One can only avail an NCB if that individual has not claimed anything throughout the year. The amount is reduced from the premium.

Traffic movement was restricted in New Delhi on the event of the inauguration of the new Parliament building. According to the police reports, movement was allowed to only certain vehicles that included civil service aspirants, labelled vehicles, bonafide residents, public transport and emergency vehicles. 

These measures were taken for national safety as the event was being held in the presence of the Prime Minister and several other dignitaries of the country.

In 2021, the Delhi transport department introduced faceless services with e-sign facilities as well as biometrics-based authentication. This was done in order to provide users with the ease to avail the services of the RTO from the comfort of their homes. The faceless services provided by RTO Delhi are as follows:

• Issuing No Objection Certificates or NOCs

• Transferring ownership

• Issuing duplicate registration certificate

• Adding hypothecation

• Terminating hypothecation 

• Continuing hypothecation

• Changing of address in registration certificates

• Registration certificate particulars

• Retention of registration number 

• Renewing permits

• Transferring permits

• Transferring permits in case of death

• Issuing fresh permits

• Surrendering permits

• Issuing duplicate permits

• Renewing home authorization 

A road safety campaign was organised by the Road Safety Cell in Delhi at the Shani Mandir intersection near Hasanpur. This campaign was organised to emphasize road safety and create more awareness among the people. There were announcements made over PA systems, people carried placards and banners to educate the people around them. 

According to a recent report, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal says Delhi has finally become the electric vehicle capital of India. He also stresses that air pollution is also declining with the increase in the number of electric vehicles in recent years. 

On this note, Delhi now has 53 ultra-low-cost EV charging stations with the inauguration of 42 new ultra-low-cost EV charging stations.