QCOSTARICA – One of the first tasks that the leaders of the Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes (MOPT) – Ministry of Public Works and Transportation – will have this Monday is to start with the analysis of the eleven offers submitted by the companies interested in providing the Revisión Técnica Vehicular(RTV) – vehicular inspection service – on a temporary basis up to two years or “uso precario”.
The process could take between three and five days for the initial process, according to the expectations of MOPT authorities, who will review the proposals received by the July 29 deadline, two weeks after the Riteve SyC company concluded its operations in the country after the expiration of the 20 year contract it had with the government.
Today, (Monday, August 8), the inspection of imported used vehicles, as well as public transport units such as taxis and buses, will begin to be done by MOPT mechanics at the Alajuelita station and equipment that was once used by Riteve and is now, as all the other stations and equipment in the hands of the government.
The MOPT Minister, Luis Amador, made it clear the inspection is not open to the ‘general public”, only to the select group of vehicle owners that require the inspection, in the case of imported vehicles, to be registered in the property registry to be nationalized and taxis and buses that are required to be inspected twice yearly.
For the rest of the country’s vehicular fleet, it is expected that by the middle of September a new operator will be installed and start providing the inspection. The MOPT has instructed to the Policia de Transito (Traffic Police) not to sanction owners or drivers of vehicles with plates ending in 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, and up to not more than two months after the inspection stations are operating, for not having the current inspection certificate.
For all the other (vehicles with plates ending in 1, 2, 3, and 4), owners or drivers and without the old Riteve certificate, face a fine of ¢55,000 colones for each instance picked off by a traffic official.
