XN000022-1978-09-16 — Page 2

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1978

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CAR REGISTRATION AND LICENSING TO GO COMPUTER

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THE TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT WILL EXTEND ITS COMPUTER SYSTEM NEXT YEAR TO INCLUDE VEHICLE REGISTRATION AND LICENSING,

THE NEW PROGRAMME, WHICH IS AIMED AT PROVIDING MORE EFFICIENT SERVICES TO MOTOR ISTS, WILL ENABLE THE DEPARTMENT'S LICENSING SECTION TO HANDLE THE REGISTRATION AND LICENSING OF A MOTOR VEHICLE WITHIN MINUTES.

A SPOKESMAN FOR THE TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT SAID THE NEW PROGRAMME WOULD BE SIMILAR TO THE EXISTING PROCESS OF ISSUING PROVISIONAL DRIVING LICENCES AND THE RENEWAL OF DRIVING LICENCES.

HE SAID THAT THE TRANSFER OF ALL VEHICLE RECORDS INTO THE COMPUTER WILL COMMENCE TOWARDS THE END OF THE YEAR AND THE NEWLY PROGRAMMED SYSTEM IS BEING DEVELOPED.

+HOPEFULLY, HE SAID, AN ON-LINE' ISSUING SYSTEM FOR THE REGISTRATION AND LICENSING OF MOTOR VEHICLES CAN COME INTO OPERATION IN MID-1979.+

INITIALLY, THE SPOKESMAN EXPLAINED, ABOUT 20 TO 25 ON-LINE' TERMINALS WILL BE INSTALLED AT BOTH THE HONG KONG AND KOWLOON LICENSING OFFICES. THESE TERMINALS WILL BE CONNECTED TO THE ICL 2970 MASTER COMPUTER AT THE GOVERNMENT'S DATA PROCESSING DIVISION.

INFORMATION CONCERNING A CAR OWNER, AS WELL AS OTHER PARTICULARS ABOUT HIS VEHICLE SUCH AS REGISTRATION AND ENGINE NUMBERS, TYPE AND COLOUR WILL BE COMPUTERISED AND MADE AVAILABLE AT THE LICENSING COUNTER INSTANTLY. DURING CAR LICENSING PROCESS, THE INFORMATION SUPPLIED BY AN APPLICANT WILL BE CHECKED BY THE COMPUTER, WHICH IS ALSO PROGRAMMED TO REVEAL UNPAID FIXED PENALTY FINES OF THE CAR OWNER, IF THERE IS ANY.

+ IF THE RECORD IS CLEAN, A VEHICLE LICENCE WILL BE ISSUED IN A MATTER OF MINUTES, THE SPOKESMAN SAID.

ANOTHER ADVANTAGE OF THE COMPUTERISED SYSTEM IS THAT RECORDS OF MISSING VEHICLES CAN BE TRACED MUCH FASTER THAN BEFORE.

NOTING THAT THERE WERE 214,794 VEHICLES AND 569,461 VALID DRIVING LICENCES AS AT THE END OF APRIL THIS YEAR, THE SPOKESMAN SAID: +WITHOUT THE HELP OF A COMPUTER, WE WOULD NEED EXTREMELY LARGE NUMBERS OF STAFF TO HANDLE THE ISSUE AND RENEWAL OF LICENCES.

+BESIDES, DELAYS AND HUMAN ERRORS WILL CAUSE INCONVENIENCE "TO MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC.

+ THE COMPUTERISATION OF THE VEHICLE REGISTRATION AND LICENSING WILL THEREFORE BE A VITAL CONTRIBUTION TO THE TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT'S CAPACITY IN HANDLING THE EVER INCREASING NUMBER OF DRIVING LICENCES AND VEHICLES, HE ADDED.

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