Licence ride to get less bumpy

Starting July, you can apply for a driving licence at any of the 13 zonal transport offices in the Capital irrespective of where you live.

Starting July, you can apply for a driving licence at any of the 13 zonal transport offices in the Capital irrespective of where you live.

HT Image

The transport department is also considering keeping its offices open on Saturdays and Sundays to allow people fill documents and take road tests on non-working days.

The department is all set to store data collected from its zonal offices in a central server with the help of a new software, allowing Delhiites to avail a learner’s licence from one office and, if they so desire, a permanent licence from another, department sources said.

“There are certain zonal offices where only 20-30 persons turn up in a day to apply for driver’s licence while there are others where 200-300 applications are received everyday. The new system will help in equitable distribution of work load,” said a senior transport department officer. The software, said officials, is being made by Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS), the agency which already handles online learner’s licence system and the distribution of licences through speed post.

Biometric details are collected twice when applicants take tests for the learners’ licence. With the help of the new software, the biometric details would be posted on the central server.

With more than 1,200-1,400 persons applying for drivers’ licence everyday, the transport department is also planning to keep its zonal offices open on Saturdays and Sundays.

“We will first observe how the new software and its integration with the central sever works. If need arises, we will also open our zonal offices on weekends. Only those applicants who will take prior appointment online would be entertained on the weekend,” an official said.