Belize will soon have an electronic system for driver and vehicle licenses, as well as vehicle registration with a web portal to access information thanks to the efforts of the Central Information Technology Office (C.I.T.O.) and Taiwan’s technical mission in Belize, led by Ming-Cheng (Diego) Tsai.
Two information and communications technology experts: Professor Shian-Shyong Tseng of Asia University in Taichung, Taiwan and Project Management Consultant/Software Engineer, Hsu En-Che, have been in Belize since last Thursday, meeting with Transport Department Director Crispin Jeffries and other authorities to determine Belize’s ICT needs in this area, and to advise on a way forward.
Professor Tseng said the preliminary evaluation showed that most of Belize’s transport records are hard copy, on paper. And while some of the information has been computerized, the data-bases in each district are separate and not online, so they are not accessible to the transport departments in other municipalities in other districts.
Transport authorities had found through hard experience that as little as 50 percent of traffic tickets are paid, so the transport departments in all districts are losing out on a significant amount of revenue through unpaid fines for traffic offenses. A consequence of this inaccessibility of information is that when an offending driver is pulled over for a traffic violation in one district or municipality, the local traffic authorities have no way of knowing the driver’s previous driving history, or whether the offender has any unpaid traffic tickets in other jurisdictions.
The proposed solution should not only significantly increase collection of revenue from traffic fines and license fees, but will speed up service to the public.
Initially all transport and drivers’ information records will be digitized and stored in a central database, with a web portal which can be accessed from anywhere in the country. Traffic officers out on the road will also be able to access a driver’s record through wireless internet connectivity, which will improve enforcement.
The system will also improve data security, since all information can be backed-up to a secure computer server at a remote location, so a fire or other natural disaster at any transport offices would not result in any loss of records.
Tseng said having the transport and vehicle information digitized and in a central database will allow it to be analyzed to look for trends, which can help in policy decisions on road maintenance and infra-structure improvements.
Municipal authorities are fully onboard with the initiative as Tseng and Hsu also met with representatives of all nine municipalities, including six Mayors, on Tuesday.
The new centralized transport and traffic management system will allow drivers and vehicles owners to apply for licenses and vehicle registration online. The new system will reward good road users with efficient and speedy service, improve safety by keeping poor or reckless drivers off the road, and help punish offenders.
This latest innovation is but the progression of CITO’s e-government implementation started with the fisheries/forest license and permit system introduced by the Ministry of Forest, Fisheries and Agriculture last week.
IMG-0069 Management consultant Hsu En-Che and professor Shian-Shyong Tseng advised on online transport information system.
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Quelle/Source: The Reporter Belize, 15.04.2016