RTA to set up e-link with opticians by year-end

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By Shafaat Ahmed  www.khaleejtimes.com

DUBAI – The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in Dubai will offer an e-link to all opticians in the emirate to dispatch the eye test results online to its database by the end of this year, a senior official told Khaleej Times.

Once the e-link, which is similar to the one offered for insurance agencies last year, is established, the eye test results for driving licences will have to be sent online only and no papers would be accepted.

“The system is already in place and we have piloted with our four Trusted Agents who are currently using it to dispatch results as well as process driving licences. By the end of this year, we will establish the link with all optic centres in the emirate,” said Ahmed Hashem Bahrozyan, CEO of RTA’s Licensing Agency. However, the licences would be renewed only if the eye tests are done at the RTA-approved Trusted Agents.

The initiative follows an agreement between the RTA and the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) which governs the opticians in Dubai and will help the authority further its agenda of ‘paperless transaction’.

“Our vision is to offer all of our services online and reduce the paperwork, this will both help the environment as well as make our job easy and efficient. We already have 93 per cent of our services online and every other month, we come up with new online services,” he added.

The RTA currently has 160 out of its 175 services available online and it aims at improving that number further. Among its recent online launches are renewal  of licences and vehicle registration through its website. It offers online top-up of nol cards, number plate auctions as well as online Knowledge Test, which is the new theory test for driving licences. More info

shafaat@khaleejtimes.com