Durban - Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula has launched "a bouquet of online services" that will hopefully make motorists’ and drivers’ lives easier.
The department said the aim was to enhance online renewals and bookings to create a seamless booking experience when using online booking services, but you will still need to visit a centre to have fingerprints taken and eye tests done.
Mbalula said that motorists will be able to access most of the services they had to travel and queue for at Driving Licence Testing Centres in the past from the comfort of their homes and offices.
He added that motorists and businesses will be able to register their accounts, renew and pay for their driver’s licence card renewal, register notices of change of vehicle ownership and obtain crash reports, all online.
Mbalula said this will improve efficiency and lessen the time a person spends in the queue.
"We have taken bold step to modernise our systems and ride the digital wave to improve service delivery. The era of long queues and service centres that close at 3:30pm, forcing workers to take time off work in order to access traffic services will soon become a thing of the past," the Minister said.
He added that vehicle, learner and driver licensing processes were a pervasive challenge for a long time.
Mbalula said the experience of the citizen from the time they book for a learner’s licence to the time they receive their driving licence card is changing.
"These are services that will give impetus to a new service delivery model that places the citizen at the centre. Navigating between services rendered by local government, provincial government and national government," he said.
IOL