LAHORE: To make Lahorites follow traffic rules even in the absence of wardens, the city traffic police have started round-the-clock e-monitoring of roads, besides issuing “warning E-tickets” to the violators and delivering these at their homes under the Punjab Safe City Authority.

The traffic police have issued such warnings to 1,000 motorists so far over different violations of rules, initially on The Mall.

The government is also amending the Provincial Motor Vehicles Ordinance (MVO) 1965 to introduce the Electronic Traffic Violation Management System in Punjab. Under the amended ordinance, e-challans, camera-integrated fines, attachment of fine with number plates and licence penalty point system (LPPS), will be introduced in the entire city.

Pilot project launched on The Mall

Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Rai Ijaz Ahmed told Dawn the city traffic police had started e-challaning on The Mall under a pilot project after installing five CCTV cameras on different spots on the busy artery.

“We are sending the challans to the violators at their residential addresses,” he said.

He said as many as 1,000 challans were sent to homes of the violators as “warning tickets” in the first phase of the project, adding that the registered commuters were also being sent SMS messages, informing them they were being monitored.

The CTO said CCTV cameras would be installed at 71 locations in the city to monitor traffic violations under the project. He added that in the traffic rule book there were total 24 types of violations, but the CCTV cameras could monitor only nine of these -- speeding, signal jumping, line and lane, one way, without lights, rash driving, excessive smoke, mobile phone usage, not wearing seat-belt and helmet.

He said under the project the commuters would receive fine tickets at their home addresses with violation details and they would have the option to pay the fine online or manually.

He said as there was no provision for such innovation in the Provincial Motor Vehicles Ordinance (MVO) 1965, the government decided to amend the ordinance, adding that the necessary amendments had been finalised to introduce e-challans and camera-integrated fines.

The CTO said the proposed amendments included suspension or cancellation of driving licences of habitual violators.

He said the violators not depositing e-challan fines in time would have to pay an additional amount and if caught again violating their vehicle would be impounded.

Mr Ahmed said 320 POS (point of sale) machines had been purchased to issue e-tickets and the number would be increased to 2,200.

Answering a query, he said Punjab Excise and Taxation Department was working on a project to issue electronic readable number plates to all vehicles and a campaign was also ongoing on against illegal plates. Warning text messages and e-challans were being issued to the registered commuters, he added.

He said traffic police were also going to launch full version of a smart phone application -- Rasta -- that would include features like news and events, Lahore travel advisory, e-challaning, e-licencing, e-testing, FM Radio, Emergency Helpline 15, traffic complaints and feedback/suggestions for motorists.

The mobile phone App, he said, would be available at Google’s play store and anyone could download it by getting registered and providing his or her personal details to access different services available there. Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) is helping the city traffic police core group in developing the App that would be launched in a week or two.

Elaborating, the CTO said that through the App’s News and Events icon the motorists would be guided about various traffic campaigns and initiatives, while the Lahore Travel Advisory would update them regarding any blockage, diversion, protest or any other event taking place in the city. It would also suggest the users alternate routes to reach their destinations, he added.

He said people would also be able to get learner’s driving licence through Rasta App’s e-testing. “The candidates will have to pass an online test for the purpose,” he added.

The CTO said work was also on to replace the old stamps with an online stamp system. “There are 13 licencing centres in different areas of the city and the number will be increased to 35 in the coming months”.

He hoped that feedback and suggestions of commuters would help the authorities improve the traffic system and the citizens could also report any mismanagement, corruption or malpractice.

Published in Dawn, May 31st, 2017