Drivers very soon will not need to carry physical registration and fitness certificates, while travelling, as soft copies will suffice. The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) will issue e-cards to vehicle owners, eliminating the hassle of carrying paper documents. Traffic police and other authorities will accept these digital copies.
Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) Chairman Nur Mohammad Mazumder said this on Tuesday while addressing a view exchange meeting with Reporters for Rail and Road (RRR), an organisation of journalists working on transport and communication issues, at the BRTA headquarters in the capital.
"Owners will receive soft copies of e-registration on the first day of registering their vehicles with the BRTA. Consequently, they will not have to wait for the registration card to be delivered. These copies can be downloaded and printed out for safekeeping," he said.
Similarly, fitness certificates will also be paperless. The owner and driver can keep a soft copy on their phone and present it to authorities when required, Mazumder said, adding that the gazette notification for e-fitness certificates has been issued recently, and the service will be available soon.
Nur Mohammad further said that the BRTA has introduced a self-registration system for vehicle owners. They can apply for registration online without relying on vehicle dealers. All fees can now be paid via mobile or online banking from home.
Furthermore, the BRTA is developing a database for public transport vehicles, including route permit information, to prevent unauthorized route operations. "The system will prevent buses from operating on unauthorized routes. For instance, the e-toll system will not accept tolls from buses that are not registered for the route," he explained.
The BRTA chairman also said that a committee has been formed to formulate a legal framework for vehicle workshops. "Workshops are proliferating rapidly. Under the new system, they will need to meet specific requirements and obtain a licence before commencing operations," he said.
Nur Mohammad also noted that his office is working on collecting real-time information on road accidents from the field level, which will be effective from July. This system aims to provide accurate information about road accidents nationwide.
High officials from the BRTA headquarters and its wings attended the programme.
