Software glitch plagues Transport Department, vehicle buyers face trouble

BENGALURU: Those buying new vehicles or applying for driver’s licence, seem to be facing delays in getting their registration certificates or licences. A software glitch is being blamed for the delay in issuance of smart cards at the Regional Transport Offices.

Buyers of new vehicles are struggling to get their RC smart cards over the last ten days and they are apprehensive about using their vehicles due to the delay. The Transport Department has contracted some private players for issuing smart cards but, with the software glitch not fixed, vehicle owners and applicants for driving licences are running from pillar to post to get their smart cards.

Long queues of people can be seen at the Regional Transport Offices (RTO) in Bengaluru and citizens are angry over the repeated delays in providing services.

Raghavendra, a new vehicle owner, pointed out that the National Informatics Corporation (NIC) under the Union government develops various softwares for different departments, including government apps. “The contractors for maintaining the software change after fresh tenders are called. But the general public is suffering because of a departmental mistake and paying a price for it, though it is not our mistake. This shows the negligence of the department. Whom should we question about this? If there is an issue with the software, they should at least allow new vehicles to be used or fix the issue within 24 hours. Otherwise, they should ask people to stop purchasing new vehicles and suspend the registration process until the software is properly updated”, he rued.