Now you can book for licence renewals
NELSON Mandela Bay residents will now be able to skip the long queues at the metro’s traffic departments.
Residents would be allowed to make appointments to renew their driver’s licences and professional driver permits from next week, the municipality said yesterday.
The bookings, which can be made over the telephone or through machines installed at the Uitenhage and Korsten centres, will start from Monday.
Mayoral committee member for safety and security John Best said the system would be a temporary precursor to an online booking system and smartphone application.
The online system is expected to come into effect by March 1.
“We decided to implement the temporary call-in and walk-in booking system ahead of the digital booking systems to find a quicker way to alleviate the long queues plaguing service delivery at the centres,” Best said.
“Three machines will be dedicated in Korsten to the new booking system and one in Uitenhage. Each machine will accommodate 28 bookings per day.”
Residents who preferred to queue and wait for assistance would still have the option to do so, he said.
The metro would also reschedule its appointment with the Department of Transport to discuss improvements to the centres’ software and hardware.
It was previously reported that new technology had been installed at the centres in September, but slow internet speed was causing long and slow-moving queues, leading to widespread complaints from residents last month.
One reader complained of waiting seven hours and noting staff shortages at the Uitenhage centre, while other readers told of faulty machines delaying the process.
Residents can book appointments at the Uitenhage centre at 041-995 2700 and at the Korsten Centre at 041-506 1100.