All transport services to go digital by April, trials underway: Gahlot

NEW DELHI: Transport minister Kailash Gahlot on Friday said the Delhi government is working on an “ambitious project” of shifting all its transport services in the Capital online from April this year. Once commissioned, the project, which aims to decongest all the 13 regional transport offices (RTOS) of the city, will allow people to get important documents including renewal of driving licenses (DLS) or transfer of vehicle ownership from the comfort of their homes.

Gahlot said the transformation to “faceless services” (online services) will be carried out in two phases. Once implemented, only the applicants seeking a learner’s license or permanent DL or vehicle fitness certificate will have to physically visit the RTOS to undergo various tests.

“Under the leadership of chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, this is the biggest reform package from the transport department that we have planned this year. Under the first phase, 12 services will be made 100% online. Trials and testing of the software is currently underway and we are planning a soft launch next week. The second phase will include 58 services. Our aim is to shift all transport services online from April 1,” he said.

The Delhi government offers a total of 70 transport services for which currently only online appointment booking facility is available. After taking an appointment online, an applicant has to visit the RTO to get the documentation completed.

The services that will be made completely online in the first phase include renewal of DL, duplicate DL, change of address in DL, transfer of registration certificate (RC) for resale vehicles and so on. In the second phase, services such as permit transfer, NOC for other states and yearly authorisation will be made online.