Over 90% Delhi residents choose online route to get driving licences

Data shared by the department showed that of the total 19,375 fresh applications for permanent driving licences in July, 17,435 were received online.

Almost all transport offices of Delhi have shifted the process of obtaining a permanent driving licence online, the transport department on Tuesday said. More than 90% of all applicants last month applied on department’s website, an official said.

Almost all transport offices of Delhi have shifted the process of obtaining a permanent driving licence online.(HT Photo)

Data shared by the department showed that of the total 19,375 fresh applications for permanent driving licences in July, 17,435 were received online. That means only 1,940 applicants applied in person at the motor licensing offices (MLOs) to get their permanent driving licences.

“We started using the all-India Saarthi 4 software of National Informatics Centre in mid-2017. The figures for July 2018 are here. Online usage is increasing steadily at all regional transport offices and motor licensing officers,” Delhi’s transport commissioner Varsha Joshi said.

The Janakpuri MLO received zero offline application for permanent driving licences and just two for learner’s licences the past month. It received the highest number of online application for learner’s licences (3,281) while Rohini office had the maximum online applications for permanent licences (2,347) among all 13 MLOs in the city.

Joshi said online applications for learner’s licences have exceeded the offline mode. There were 18,344 online applications as against 14,451 offline ones of the total 32,795 applications for learner’s driving licences received by the transport department in July.

There were few online applicants when the facility was launched in July last year but the number has picked up gradually, she said.

MLOs in Sheikh Sarai, Loni, Mayur Vihar, Wazirpur and Suraj Mal Vihar received more offline applications than online ones for learner’s licences. Mall Road and Vasant Vihar MLOs had a reverse trend with more online applications than offline ones.

An analysis of data shows that maximum online applications for learner’s licences were received in Rohini (2,499) followed by Dwarka (2,538) and Loni (2,065). The least number of applications was at IP Depot (186).

“The online facility cuts down the time people have to spend in queues at the MLOs. Nevertheless, the department has set up help desks at all MLOs, barring three, to assist people in filling up forms if they choose the offline mode,” an official, on condition of anonymity, said.

The government also revealed the data on buses that were checked for fitness at the newly opened automated centre in north west Delhi’s Jhuljhuli. “From September 20 last year till August 13, 2018, a total of 6,825 buses were tested of which 1,619 failed the fitness test,” another official said.