Department of Transport: Reform to better serve people

(Baonghean) - As a pioneer in providing high-level online public services for people and businesses, in recent times, many administrative procedures have been strongly reformed by the Nghe An Department of Transport.

Breakthrough in driving license issuance and renewal

The working atmosphere is serious and urgent, many people seem comfortable waiting to receive their driving license right after the test results are recorded by us at the Nam Dan Road Motor Vehicle Testing Center. "I feel very satisfied. After passing the test, I will receive my driving license right away. This creates a lot of favorable conditions for people" - Ms. Nguyen Thi Van (Xuan Hoa, Nam Dan) shared.

Resolving administrative procedures for people at the One-Stop Department of the Department of Transport. Photo: Thanh Le

Direct issuance of driving licenses is the first new method in the country implemented by the Nghe An Department of Transport since July 2015. Accordingly, after students complete the exam content, the examination council reviews, synthesizes data and transfers the list via the internet to the Director of the Department of Transport to sign the admission decision.

Next, authorized by the Department Director, the Head of the Vehicle Management Department and the driver will sign and print the driver's license right at the Road Motor Vehicle Testing Center. After only about 1 hour, students can receive their driver's license right at the Road Motor Vehicle Testing Center. This administrative procedure reform has created maximum conditions for people to receive and use their driver's license. Up to now, this is the first and only method in the whole country.

To reduce procedures, time and travel costs for people, the Department coordinated with Nghe An Post Office to return driving licenses by post at the Department's One-Stop Department and exchange driving licenses at the system of postal centers in districts, cities and towns. Instead of having to go to the Department of Transport, people only need to go to the post office to complete the application, take photos, take fingerprints, the post office transfers the application for the Department of Transport to appraise and issue driving licenses, through the postal service to deliver to people. This method has reduced the flow of 20,000 people flocking to Vinh city each year to do the procedures for issuing and exchanging driving licenses. This model has been appraised by the Vietnam Road Administration and Nghe An has been chosen as a point for replication nationwide.

In particular, since July 2016, Nghe An Department of Transport has had a creative approach of applying automatic queue numbering software with images. Unlike the queue numbering at other units, after dialing the queue number, citizens will be given a queue number slip with the image of the person who directly comes to do the transaction. When completing the procedures for issuing and exchanging a driving license, the one-stop staff will compare the person who takes the queue number slip with the correct image with the profile and photo of the new registrant to complete the procedures for issuing and exchanging a driving license at the department.

This is the first and only new approach in the country of Nghe An Department of Transport. This approach has contributed to reducing the situation of "license brokers" coming in to get serial number tickets to resell to citizens coming to transact as before. To do this, the Department is interested in investing in equipment and applying information technology to best serve the people, at the same time, implementing measures to prevent and combat harassment and negativity among officials and civil servants.

Minimize administrative procedures

To improve the efficiency of performing professional tasks, administrative procedure reform is identified by the Department of Transport as a key task, a breakthrough to facilitate the lives of people and businesses with the implementation of many important and breakthrough solutions in all areas: Institutional reform; administrative procedure reform; organizational reform, human resource development, improving the quality of cadres, civil servants, and public employees; public finance; modernization of public administration and direction. In 2016, the Department issued a Decision to announce 85 administrative procedures of departments and offices, of which 54 new procedures were added, 31 procedures were amended, and 30 procedures were eliminated. Administrative procedures are made public on the Department's electronic information portal.

The Department's administrative procedure reform work focuses on areas related to the people, district level, agencies and organizations such as traffic construction appraisal, road motor vehicle inspection, issuance and exchange of driving licenses, intermodal licenses, etc. Therefore, the processing time has been shortened, making it more convenient for the people. For example, in the transportation sector, some procedures have had their processing time shortened compared to regulations such as: Issuing Vietnam-Laos intermodal licenses (shortened from 3 days to 1 day), issuing transport business licenses (shortened from 5 days to 2 days), issuing transport route badges (shortened from 3 days to 1 day), etc.

At the same time, the Department has started receiving applications for Vietnam - Laos Intermodal Transport Licenses and vehicle badges for transport businesses through the postal system to facilitate people and businesses. Continue to implement the Regulations on coordination with the Department of Finance in controlling transport fares, and organize the signing of commitments for transport businesses. The management of transport vehicles through the GPS system continues to be maintained, through inspections, violations have been promptly corrected and strictly handled, strengthening the work of ensuring traffic safety and serving the needs of passenger transport well.

Printing driving licenses for students is one of the breakthroughs in administrative procedure reform of the Department of Transport. Photo: Thanh Le

At the same time, the Department of Transport also strengthens and improves working conditions, applies information technology to modernize public administration. At the Department of Transport's One-Stop Center, although the number of people coming to transact is very large, it is very orderly and disciplined.

To serve the people, the Department has invested and renovated the "one-stop" office according to the criteria of convenience, cleanliness and civilization. The "one-stop" mechanism has been strongly implemented and gradually promoted to be effective in order to minimize difficulties for the people and businesses. The one-stop center operates well, maintaining the application of the quality management system according to ISO 9001-2008 standards. In 2016, 93,824 sets of documents of all kinds were received and returned on time.

In particular, the Department of Transport is a unit that strongly deploys the application of information technology in management, operation and public service implementation. Currently, the Department is effectively using the following software: traffic infrastructure management software, transport management software, appraisal record management software, vehicle registration and inspection software, etc. It is a pioneer in researching and upgrading the HCM Egov 2.0 electronic office software and using automatic queuing software with images at the "One-stop" department.

Currently, we are continuing to direct the construction and use of a number of other software such as: fee collection management software, training management software, etc. In addition, financial autonomy helps the Department to be proactive in developing operational plans, the awareness of saving of officers and civil servants is clearly raised; productivity and work efficiency are increasingly improved.

According to Mr. Nguyen Hong Ky - Director of the Department of Transport, the Department has focused on directing very strongly in all areas, especially the work of receiving people. Every year, the industry has to issue 12 types of licenses. To facilitate people, the unit has reformed many software, especially public administrative procedures.

Along with the good implementation of administrative procedures, the Department attaches special importance to the development and improvement of the quality of the staff and civil servants. Through the arrangement and assignment of staff according to job positions; good implementation of policies and regimes; supervision of the performance of duties of civil servants and public employees, and especially through training and fostering, the quality of the Department's apparatus is constantly improved.

It can be seen that, by promoting the implementation of many important and breakthrough solutions, in recent times, the Department of Transport has continuously improved the quality and efficiency of the unit's operations towards better serving people and businesses.

Thanh Le