The Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport (GDRT) is rolling out advanced technology across its smart Driving Licence Testing Centres (DLTCs), to prevent cheating during a learner’s licence test.
The software, designed to monitor online K53 learner licence tests in real-time to prevent rigging, has been deployed at the smart DLTC in Atteridgeville, with plans to extend it across more branches in future.
This was revealed by Tshepo Kgobe, CEO of the Gautrain Management Agency (GMA), speaking to ITWeb yesterday on the sidelines of the Smarter Mobility Africa Summit 2024, in Johannesburg.
The interview focused on the GMA’s future innovation plans across the DLTCs, and smart mobility solutions that have been deployed across Gautrain services.
In 2022, the GDRT collaborated with the GMA and the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) to launch the DLTC at the Centurion Gautrain Station.
The next-generation testing centre is one of four that have been opened to help resolve the backlog in licence applications and increase efficiency in the traffic department’s services in the province.
The DLTCs were built using alternative building materials and are completely off the grid, ensuring minimal disruptions and quick, convenient services.
According to Kgobe, plans are under way to expand the centres to underserviced areas of Gauteng, with a continuous drive to add new technologies to combat fraud and corruption.
“The smart DLTCs have recently also taken on the renewal of car disks, and it now takes an average of 12 minutes to do everything that normally requires a person to queue for longer at other outlets.
“We are looking to reduce this to 7.5 minutes so that we can service more people. In the Attridgeville branch, the entire K53 learners testing is now done digitally on an iPad and the process cannot be rigged. An automated camera attached to the mobile device records the process, and it has tools invigilating those writing. This is done in a limited time frame.
“The process previously involved lot of data and a lot of filling in of forms, but now everything is done quickly online. We are planning to integrate the registration point and the biometrics counter with the payments counter, to make it one seamless process.
“It's one thing to bring in the innovative technology, but if you don't bring along the technical skills and ideation, it can create problems. We've taken a lot of people who've recently graduated and placed them in multiple customer service positions.”
According to the RTMC, more than 2.5 million vehicle owners have opted to renew their vehicle licences via its online.natis platform since its launch in 2022.
The platform is integrated into the systems of the smart centres, to enable vehicle owners to register, renew and pay for their licence discs from the comfort of their homes.
The smart DLTCs provide full online and cashless services, as part of the provincial government's commitment to exploring new technologies and process optimisation.
The concept forms part of Gauteng government’s Growing Gauteng Together vision, through the Smart Mobility Plan.
The DLTCs have for years been marred by fraud and corruption. A 2022 probe by the department uncovered serious corruption and fraudulent activities by internal officials and outside intermediaries, which cost the department R1.4 billion.
These included fraudulent online booking procedures, with certain mobile numbers booking multiple slots frequently, and rigged learner’s and driver’s licence tests.
A Temba licence examiner who was previously caught writing a learner's licence test for an applicant was reportedly slapped with a R600 fine and a five-year suspended sentence.
Addressing the Smart Mobility Africa Summit in Johannesburg, transport minister Barbara Creecy highlighted the use of smart technologies across the department’s initiatives, to improve service delivery and enhance the lives of citizens.
“This is done in a variety of ways, whether in terms of e-permitting and licensing for transport operators, fully digitising driver’s licence testing and vehicle registration, automating and digitising truck weighbridges, and using real-time monitoring of our roads network to avoid congestion and road accidents.”
Creecy also announced the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) has employed a number of smart solutions to secure its infrastructure, with a goal of returning to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic level of 600 million annual passengers.
“PRASA and Huawei have partnered to employ an intelligent e-guarding perimeter system, which uses artificial intelligence to alert a central control centre when there are security breaches or incidents occurring within the system.
“This includes a seismic activity tracker, which monitors any digging that occurs within the perimeter of rail depots. This means that any attempts at cable theft or similar infrastructure damage is dealt with proactively rather than reactively,” the minister said.
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