BRTA plan to ease issuance of driving licence

Bangladesh Road Transport Authority is to offer a three-month special service for driving licence seekers from July.
The plan, aiming to simplify the process will make way for fake licence holders to legitimise their documents, officials at the BRTA said.
The officials said the BRTA has so far issued about 9 lakh driving licences across the country but the number of registered vehicles is around 13.5 lakh at this moment. Fake licence holders are driving a large number of vehicles while in Dhaka city about 50 percent licences are fake.
Beginning from the BRTA's Mirpur section, the service will be expanded to the other parts of the country.
"The main idea is to provide driving licences in the shortest possible time cutting down the lengthy procedure and to provide hassle free service,” said Md Saiful Hoque, director (Engineering) of the BRTA. “BRTA has a reputation of being a source of hassle for people. We want to change that."
"However, we are also hoping that it will attract drivers who are skilled but have fake licences," he added.
It had to incur a loss of Tk 20 crore in revenue income in the last five years, sources at the BRTA said. Fee for a professional driving licence is currently Tk 1160.
The BRTA director said the test syllabus will be the same and it will be ensured that the unqualified drivers do not pass.
He mentioned that BRTA staff from outside Dhaka would be brought in to cope with the extra pressure. Examinees will be provided with assistances in filling up forms and other papers. Booths will be opened to receive the fees. The official procedure will be finish within a day.
Exams will be held at least three times a week. If there is more pressure, then the exam will be held every day so that the process becomes faster, the official added.
Usually it takes about five to six months to obtain a driving licence and the official process is too complicated for clients. Currently the exam is held only twice a month.