Road Travel Guidelines during COVID – Everything you Need to Know

Travel Guidelines as of 9th August 2021

The second wave of COVID-19 has hit the country. In the wake of the rising cases, governments and authorities have become strict with their COVID-related guidelines. Many states have imposed night curfews and lockdowns. Regular testing and other measures are being taken by the authorities on a larger scale. Given the scale at which the cases are rising in the country, the medical infrastructure is overwhelmed. Addressing this problem, authorities released new guidelines stating that healthy travellers with no symptoms would NOT require a negative RT-PCR test to travel. This is done only to release some of the burden from the testing centres. Passengers are however advised to travel responsibly. The few exceptions that still exist have clearly been mentioned below with the latest and updated information as of August 9th, 2021.

Note: We at Savaari have made a small effort to compile this list of PAN India COVID and vaccine resources in an easily-digestible table for quick reference – it will help you find every information you need at one place, saving your effort and time which could be critical in saving lives at the moment.

We have come a long way in disseminating travel-related information during the COVID 19 pandemic. The aim is to ensure that you receive real-time updates on travel and face no problems on the road. Our team ensures the document is updated from time to time with relevant information collected online as well as on-ground. Below is the latest information on night curfews, lockdowns in many states and the status of the requirement of negative RT-PCR test reports as well as other restrictions in each Indian state.

What follows next is a comprehensive guide to the things we have come through and the data we have collated over a period of a year. For all information related to a COVID travel pass, a compulsory document required for vehicular movement in India during the lockdown, the sections below will shed light on all aspects of a travel e-pass.

Please note, the information mentioned from hereon is not updated and in most cases, does not apply anymore. However, they have still been added on the blog for the purpose of record-keeping.

The COVID situation in India – Why do you need a travel pass?

In the light of COVID cases sky-rocketing each day and hitting record highs, some states have been quick to take cognizance and hit the panic button. While India was very quick to close down its economy, it also opened up fairly soon, thereby resulting in a phase of community spread since June.

Few of the worst affected states in order to control the spread of COVID 19 have imposed strict guidelines on the movement of people in and out of those states. While most states in India have agreed to do away with the travel pass requirement (refer to the section below) some states continue to follow them wherein only a valid, government-issued COVID travel pass can allow free Intra and inter-state movement.

Contents

1. State-wise classification – Where do you need a Travel pass?
   • List of States where free movement is allowed
   • List of States where a pass is required
2. How do Travel passes work?
3. Detailed procedures for travel & movement in some important states?
4. What do you need in order to apply for a travel pass?
5. How long does it take to get a travel pass?
6. How to check the status of your COVID-19 travel pass?
7. How long is the pass valid for?
8. How to communicate your pass details to Savaari?
9. How does a travel pass look like?

1. State-wise classification – Where do you need a Travel pass?

Below is a state-wise classification that will help identify where you will compulsorily need a COVID travel pass. Refer to the following sections to know about certain important cases in terms of travel. This list will be updated continuously based on how the situation pans out in the respective states.

Update: Karnataka has abolished ALL restrictions that were imposed during the lockdown period. The state will now allow complete movement of goods and passengers into and out of its borders without any hassles and e-pass requirements.

List of States/UTs where there is FREE movement and no passes are required

List of States/UTs where a Travel pass is required

List of States/UTs where there is ambiguity regarding the pass

2. Decoding movement during the lockdown – How do Travel passes work?

The way e-passes work is that if you are traveling interstate then it will depend on both states if they require an e-pass or not. If both require then you have to get an e-pass from the state of origin as well as one from the destination state.

If only one requires then you would only need to get the e-pass from that state and not the other irrespective of the fact that it is the state of trip origin or destination state.

If both states don’t require a COVID travel pass, then no pass is needed. If the states are not adjoining and there is an intermediate state that you would need to pass from, even if that state requires a pass, you don’t need to get that.

Tamil Nadu is an exception as if you are traveling from Karnataka to Kerala through Tamil Nadu, you would need to apply for a pass for Tamil Nadu too apart from applying for passes in both Karnataka and Kerala.

While in all cases, within city/within state travel is allowed, there are states like Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, where even for within city COVID travel passes are required.

Please look at the list below to find the latest information. On top, you have to also keep a close eye on the containment zones within a city and also other initiatives by each state to reduce Corona cases like lockdown in Karnataka from Saturday evening to Monday morning.

A few things to note:

1. Passengers traveling for leisure purposes need to check the status and conditions of Destination City/States before traveling.
2. Night Curfew is imposed between 10:00 PM to 05:00 AM across India (varies by state but more or less applies in all states), Customers should plan their travel accordingly.
3. While we update this information very regularly, given things still remain very dynamic we cannot guarantee that the situation will not change from the moment you book to the time you travel. What we can guarantee certainly is that we will try our level best to facilitate your travel in the safest way possible.

Here are a few examples to demonstrate the above rules:

3. Detailed procedures for inter-state movement – What are the key considerations for CERTAIN IMPORTANT states?

Karnataka

Tamil Nadu

Kerala

Andhra Pradesh

Maharashtra

Goa

Pondicherry

Odisha

Jharkhand

Madhya Pradesh

Uttarakhand

West Bengal

Chhatisgarh

Jammu and Kashmir

4. What do you need in order to apply for a COVID travel pass?

In order to apply for a travel pass, one must have a valid government-issued id (Aadhar Card, Pan Card, Passport Number, Driver’s License). In some states, a vehicle number is also a prerequisite to apply for a travel pass. However, those availing Savaari’s car rental services, vehicle number can be obtained by responding to us on your booking confirmation mail.

5. How long does it take to get a travel pass?

Because there is no uniform process as it varies from state to state, it is best to start your COVID travel pass application as soon as possible. It takes at least 24 hrs to secure a pass.

6. How to check the status of your COVID-19 travel pass?

You should be able to check the status on the same website that you used to apply for the pass. We will highly recommend you note down any ID/confirmation number provided after you have submitted the pass request and pay special attention to what they tell you on how/when you would know about your pass issuance.

7. How long is the pass valid for?

Every pass that has been issued by the government will be valid either for a round trip or a one-way drop. In other words, a pass is issued for one-time use only.

8. How to communicate your pass details to Savaari?

You are expected to either take a picture or screenshot of your pass and send it after the confirmation mail is sent to you. You are also expected to carry a hard copy of your pass when you are traveling with Savaari.

9. How does a travel pass look like?

Even though the passes vary from state to state, below are a few samples for your understanding –

Last Updated on August 10, 2021 by Hritika Singh

A quick summary

Article Name

Everything you need to know about the COVID Travel Pass

Description

This is a comprehensive resource bank for all travel related queries during the COVID lockdown. It includes official inter-state and intra-state travel regulations.

Author

Team Savaari

Brand

Savaari Car Rentals

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