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alexk
Guest
Transport Commissioner Wayne Richards is assuring the public that there is no shortage of inspection stickers.
To substantiate his claim, Richards said he showed the media yesterday at Licensing Office, Port-of-Spain, rolls of inspection stickers that were available.
His comments came one day after a notice was put up at a Licensing Office informing the public that there were no inspection stickers available until further notice due to machine problems.
The notice was plastered on social media, which infuriated the public, many of whom complained that they had to wait for long periods to be attended to at Licensing Offices.
“We have thousands and thousands of stickers for both commercial and private vehicles,” Richards insisted.
He said on Wednesday, due to technical problems experienced with a machine, stickers could not be printed, but they had in stock.
The machine has since been repaired.
Told that the notice was misleading and gave the impression that there were no stickers available, Richards said, “Well, that is how some people read it. But we have sufficient stickers available, I can assure you.”
As for the long lines, Richards said that was expected, as people tend to do things last minute, while they could not increase its staff to handle the work load.
“We are public servants. Our staff comes from the Public Service Commission. We have to work with what we have.”
Drivers can be fined $5,000 for not having their vehicles inspected.
A private vehicle, over five years, has to be inspected every two years. Hired, heavy -T and rental vehicles require annual inspections.
Richards said with the authorities cracking down on drivers to ensure their vehicles’ stickers are up to date, Licensing Division had been seeing an influx of people “coming in for a change of colour of vehicles, engines and transfers and so on. People have not been doing the right thing.”
He said vehicle owners who changed the colour of their vehicles were now coming in to update their records.
“Now that they are going to inspect their vehicles they need to have all their records in proper order. People are now having those issues corrected.”
On Wednesday, Richards threatened to “shut down” any inspection station if they are found guilty of demanding an additional $300 inspection fee on vehicle owners when they go to collect their inspection stickers.
This was after he received a complaint from someone who had their vehicle inspected not too long ago at a station for which they paid $300, but did not collect an inspection sticker due to a scarcity.
However, when the driver went to the station to collect his sticker he was told he must pay $300 again to have the vehicle re-inspected which Richards said was wrong.
Yesterday, three testing stations said there was a mad rush by drivers to have their vehicles inspected and for collection of stickers.