Slow Internet speed at its offices have emerged as the biggest hurdle for the Delhi Transport Department’s ambitions to offer all of its services online for the sake of citizens’ convenience.
According to sources, Internet speed at the Department’s offices, at the moment, are as low as 2 MBPS and efforts are now under way to bump it up by five times bringing these to at least 10 MBPS.
AAP’s initial plan
Something of a pipe dream for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) dispensation ever since it came to power in February, 2015, the initial plan was to ensure that the Capital’s citizens didn’t have to visit their respective Regional Transport Office (RTO), of which there are a dozen in Delhi, for anything ranging from applying for a driver’s licence to seeking a correction in their vehicular documentation.
“The Department had been directed to explore the possibility of offering all its services, from applying for drivers’ licenses to the issuance of permits and fitness certificates of vehicles, online in July, 2016 only to make us realise that the current internet speeds which were being availed were so slow that they would lead to frequent system crashes,” said a source.
Boost connectivity
The Transport Department, like most government organisations, uses the services of the state-run Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL) but, in addition to the existing connection, soon intends to tie up with RailTel, a broadband and VPN service provider owned by the Indian Railways, to boost its internet connectivity.
“Several meetings with representatives from the Department and the two public sector companies have taken place and we should be able to sign them very soon, following which all the services of the Department will be available through its website shortening queues at RTOs and also cracking down on corruption,” said a senior government official.
In a similar development, according to a source, the Delhi government also aims to widen its kitty of online banking service providers to make online payment possible for more bank account holders. At the moment, for instance, the Delhi government’s online Right to Information (RTI) portal only accepts payments through public sector banks ignoring a significant chunk of private bank account holders.
“We are exploring the possibility of adding more and more private banks to the list of authorised payment service providers for our online services,” said a source privy to developments in this regard.