Bengaluru: The heavy demand for fancy registration numbers for two and four wheelers in the state has helped the Regional Transport office (RTO) boost its revenue.
In addition to the minimum registration amount of Rs 75,000 for each fancy number for four-wheelers, buyers who believe in numerology have helped RTO earn Rs 22 crore more in 2017-18.
According to the RTO if the digits on the registration number plate adds up to 9, they are in great demand as 9 is considered a powerful number in numerology.
Vehicle owners also seek numbers that they consider lucky or permutations and combinations of their birth dates as their vehicle number.
“Fancy registration numbers with respect to non-transport vehicles in the running number series, as well as in the advance series, is generally allotted through public action. In addition, If any particular number receives two or more applications then they are also put for public action,” a RTO senior official told Deccan Chronicle on condition of anonymity.
According to RTO report if a person wants a special number such as 1 for their four-wheeler, they need to shell out close to Rs 3 lakh.
The demand for attractive number series is so high that many owners of new vehicles approach RTO even when no special number series has been launched.
“There is a high demand for the fancy numbers such as 1, 9, 999, 9999, 7 and 8055 and some of these numbers were purchased for Rs 4 lakh. People will wait for the weeks to get this numbers and even keep their vehicles unregistered till they get the preferred registration number. So the RTO department has managed to earn substantial revenue by registering vehicles with special numbers,” an RTO official added.
Many people consult numerologist or astrologers before selecting their vehicles number.
Some of those planning to buy their second or third vehicle go for the same number as their first vehicle. Sridhar A., a student, said, “It will certainly be an eye-catching number and also it is an identity for me to move around in my area, a very special one. All four vehicles in my home have same number and we had to shell out Rs 25, 000 each for that."
