Anyone who has spent a morning at the traffic department in Cape Town knows that getting through the process can require a fair amount of patience. Now, Cape Town is testing another small change to the experience: paying without cash.
Yoco Card Machine / Vije Vijendranath / Unsplash
The pilot forms part of the City’s broader move towards cashless municipal services. In June, the City announced that it would begin testing cashless payments at selected Motor Vehicle Registration and Licensing offices, with the goal of making transactions safer and more efficient. Cape Town has already been moving in this direction in other areas. The Brackenfell traffic department, for example, accepts card payments only, allowing motorists to renew their licence discs without leaving their vehicles.
The shift is happening alongside a wider digitisation of driving licence services. The City has rolled out computerised learner’s licence testing across its network of 18 traffic departments. The digital system replaces the traditional paper-based test, designed to improve efficiency and reduce opportunities for errors and corruption.
For anyone applying for or renewing a driver’s licence, however, the process remains much the same. The City advises applicants to check their documentation and appointment requirements before visiting a testing centre. Depending on the transaction, motorists may need identification, proof of address, photographs, an existing licence or learner’s licence and the relevant payment.
Luckily, the one constant in our shared experience of anything that requires a stop at a customer-facing facility related to the City is that the queues have not disappeared. As of 7 September, the City reported an average waiting time of 45 days for learner’s licence tests and 30 days for light motor vehicle driving tests across its centres. Some individual centres had considerably longer waits, with New Ottery reporting an 85-day wait for a light motor vehicle test.
That makes preparation especially important. A failed attempt to complete a transaction because you arrived without the right documents or payment method is the kind of preventable mistake that can turn into another long wait for an appointment. The move towards cashless payments is therefore less about removing one inconvenience and more about changing how residents interact with City services.
For now, motorists should not assume that every driving licence testing centre has gone cashless. The initiative is being tested at selected centres, rather than being introduced across Cape Town all at once. If you have an upcoming appointment, it is worth checking the payment method accepted at your particular centre before you go. Because when it comes to Cape Town’s licensing offices, the less time spent discovering what you should have brought with you, the better.
Source (IOL)
Follow us on social media for more travel news, inspiration, and guides. You can also tag us to be featured.
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Spotify
ALSO READ:
South Africans are struggling to secure passport appointments at banks
