QCOSTARICA – After weeks of appeals and doubts, the German company, DEKRA, will start providing the vehicle technical review service – revisión técnica vehicular (RTV) – next Friday, October 28.
This was confirmed by the Minister of Public Works and Transportation (MOPT), Luis Amador, to La Nación; after participating in an event of the Chamber of Construction.
According to the report by La Nacion, Amador explained that he hopes that during the next week the delivery of assets and the signing of protocols will begin in order to start the operation of the service.
DEKRA was chosen to continue the work of the Spanish company, Riteve SyC, whose contract ended on July 15.
The German company will work through a precarious use permit for the next two years, while the Ministry of Public Services and Transport (MOPT) prepares a tender to award the RTV service to a permanent operator.
Earlier this week, the regulatory authority, the ARESEP, approved rates that will be charged by DEKRA for the initial inspection and re-inspections.
Read more: Regulatory authority lowers vehicle inspection fees and ads re-inspection cost
It is expected that the first stations to reopen are Alajuelita and Lagunilla, in the Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM), followed by the station in Guanacaste, Perez Zeledon, Puntarenas and Limon.
Expected also are longer hours of operation to meet the demand, as the new operator moves forward to inspect all the vehicles with license plates ending in 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 0, with the May/June plates, whos owners have to submit within 30 days after the start of operations by DEKRA, moving to the others, such as 7/8 with a two month extension and 9/0 with three months.
Amador also reconfirmed that owners of the vehicles with license plates covered by the extension can pay the annual Marchamo (circulation permit) and get the sticker despite not having the RTV inspection.
However, owners of vehicles whos plates end in 1, 2, 3 and 4 and did not get inspected in their respective months will have to submit to the inspection before being able to pay the Marchamo and are exposed to traffic fines.
