A technical glitch in the Regional Transport Office (RTO) software is causing trouble for Ahmedabad residents who purchased second-hand vehicles during Navratri and Dussehra. The online ownership transfer form for cars and two-wheelers registered before 2017 now requires mandatory wheelbase details, forcing buyers to make repeated trips to the RTO and incur additional expenses.

The software issue has turned affordable second-hand vehicle purchases into costly experiences. Pradeep Vora, a resident of Pragatinagar, said he had to spend an additional ₹1,000 to transfer ownership of a recently purchased two-wheeler.

“I bought a used bike from my friend just a few days ago. It was registered in 2016. When I started the ownership transfer process, the form asked me to enter the wheelbase details. The process cannot be completed without filling in this column. After making several trips to the RTO office, I eventually had to spend an additional ₹1,000 before the transfer process could move forward,” Vora said.

He added that several other vehicle owners were facing similar difficulties. After making inquiries, he learned that the mandatory wheelbase field in the online transfer form for older vehicles was reportedly the result of a software glitch.

Missing Details in Old Registration Documents

Wheelbase refers to the distance between the centres of a vehicle’s front and rear wheels. The mandatory requirement has created difficulties for owners of older vehicles because their registration documents often do not contain this information.

As a result, buyers are unable to complete the online ownership transfer process without entering the required details, leading to delays, repeated visits to the RTO and additional costs.

Vehicle Owners Seek Immediate Solution

Vehicle owners have urged the transport authorities to resolve the software issue at the earliest or introduce an alternative procedure for transferring ownership of older vehicles.

Regional Transport Officer B R Suryavanshi at the Subhash Bridge RTO could not be reached for comment.

Until the glitch is fixed, second-hand vehicle buyers risk facing unnecessary delays and financial burdens while completing the ownership transfer process.