Fancy Numbers Bring Big Bucks for TS Transport Department

Hyderabad: The craze for fancy registration numbers for new vehicles is bringing big bucks for the Transport Department of Telangana state. The auction of fancy numbers is proving to be a major source of income.

The officials revealed that the Regional Transport Offices (RTO) in Hyderabad city had collected nearly Rs 2.8 crore through auction of fancy numbers, out of which Hyderabad’s Central Zone alone garnered Rs. 1.76 crore.

The officials said the owners of SUVs and other high-end vehicles are showing great interest for fancy numbers and especially numbers like 9, 99, 999, 9999 are in great demand. The owners of the vehicles can get the fancy numbers they want by participating in the bid. For this they have to pay a reservation fee. The Central Zone used to collect only Rs. 1.20 crore between 2012 and 2015, has garnered Rs. 1.76 crore in this year only.

Among the star buyers of fancy numbers is actor Jr. NTR, who got fancy number 9999 for his new SUV by paying a record amount of Rs. 10.50 lakh. Numbers like 1111, 1122, 1143, 1188, 1213, 1234, 1148, 3339, 3366, 3456, 3459, 3555 and 5555 are also much in demand.

Hyderabad JTC Raghunath said the demand for fancy numbers across the state is also on the rise. “The earnings from auctioning of fancy numbers has soared during this financial year compared to last four years and we are hoping to garner more revenue by the end of this year,” he said.