Ministry on typewriter donation: Licensing to have digitised system in 2 weeks

THE licensing division is “transforming their licensing system” and a new digitised one will be implemented within the next two weeks.

The announcement of this new system by the Ministry of Works and Transport is a direct response to a Newsday article about a customer who donated a typewriter in order to get his taxi badge.

The article, published on Thursday, highlighted a customer who was told that the office had no typewriters and he could not be issued with a badge. The man then bought a used typewriter, a Smith Corona, along with three erasure tapes, for $500, and donated it. He and others who were waiting for their taxi badges received them that day.

In the e-mailed response to the article, the ministry said it was going to "implement modern electronic solutions,” that, along with digitised data management, are aimed at “providing faster and more efficient approaches to serve its clients.”

The new system will include a more modern process for issuing maxi taxi badges.

“Within the next two weeks, the Ministry of Works and Transport will introduce a new system for the production of such badges that will streamline the process and accommodate faster turn-around times to applicants. Given this impending launch, the Licensing Division opted to maintain the current manual system until such time that the new badge issuance process becomes operational.”

The ministry said in the past three years, it "has successfully jettisoned several timeworn practices and introduced to the public new, modern and convenient solutions that can, in some instances, be carried out from anywhere or at locations that are more convenient to customers."

In the months ahead, other new features will be added for further convenience to clients of the Licensing Division. They will include an online certified-copy request and delivery system; a computerised queue management system; and online vehicle registration and driving permit renewal that will provide delivery to any location.

As well, citizens can look forward to the introduction of the new RFID licence plate system which it is said will improve traffic management and guard against vehicle theft.