A total of 186,186 people or insurance agents made use of the eVERA online vehicle licence service in 2007 with many more expected to follow suit in using the newly set up online driving licence renewal service, which was launched by the Malta Transport Authority yesterday.
The launch of the new service was held at the Malta Transport Authority offices in Sa Maison yesterday and was attended by ADT chairman Joe Gerada, IT Minister Austin Gatt and Roads Minister Jesmond Mugliett.
Mr Mugliett said that this new service was along the lines of what Maltese people and businesses were starting to expect. “We have seen queues at the Licensing and Testing Department reducing drastically thanks to the online vehicle registration service and this should continue that trend,” he said.
In 2006, said Mr Mugliett, online renewals of vehicle licences by the public and insurance players totalled 94,254. In 2007, there were 186,186 renewals made online. Online insurance figures stood at 160,858 in 2006 and 223,867 in 2007. Updates on VRT tests stood at 75,124 in 2006 and 133,596 in 2007.
Mr Mugliett said that the uptake figures showed the readiness of both the general public and various entities to do business online.
IT Minister Austin Gatt said that since the new services were introduced, most, if not all vehicle licences were being processed online. “Today, an architect can access all the tools of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, while an insurance broker can access all the tools needed for a new licence or policy,” he said.
Dr Gatt said that all online government services were moving away from the eGovernment process.
“It is becoming more personalised and is now myGov rather than eGov,” he said.
He said that this new service will allow for more front office staff to be redeployed as back office staff. “We estimate that we will benefit from the redeployment of some 500 employees. This will result in better efficiency and value for money,” he said.
Dr Gatt said that such IT services have a great bearing on the amount of foreign investment made in Malta. “When businesses look to set up shop abroad, one of the first things they look at is online services. Do not forget that Malta was the first country in the world to post a whole copy of its laws online and many businesses told us that our decision to do that had a bearing on their final decision to invest in Malta,” he said.
He also said that Malta had more to do in making sure that businesses will be granted all their permits within 10 days once SmartCity sets up in Malta.
“I am sure that we will be in a position to do that by 2010. Malta is already well on the way to becoming a smart island,” he said.
TMID asked how many services were now online and how many people had availed themselves of them. Dr Gatt replied: “All essential services are now online and while I cannot give you figures off the top of my head, I can tell you that we get millions and millions of hits. Just look, in two years half a million people used the ones related to car registration and insurance alone.”