The Tribune

By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

SCORES of disgruntled motorists on Friday slammed the Road Traffic Department’s (RTD) digital automated system registration process, calling the newly launched exercise “utter chaos”.

Motorists at the RTD’s temporary Thomas A Robinson National Stadium location told The Tribune that a major source of contention was the lack of direction displayed at every stage of the registration process.

Additionally, various persons complained about the amount of times they were shuffled from one line to next after passing the car inspection stage, a tactic they described as disruptive and counter-intuitive. All this, they said, “while you’re in the hot sun”.

There were also long lines for car inspections wrapping around the entire lot, due to motorists taking advantage of the facility’s multiple entrances.

RTD Controller Ross Smith said that while officials did not expect so many persons to show up to the registration exercise, the process had experienced no major hiccups and that things were “going well”.

Transport and Aviation Minister Glenys Hanna Martin was also present at the Thomas A Robinson Stadium on Friday, doing her best to convince those present that the inconveniences would pay off in the long run with the implementation of the automated system. 

“At every stage you get thrown off,” said one woman. “Even if you were in the front from (car) inspection, you get thrown off because you get put on another line. Then you get put on another line. You come over here, they send you over there. So by the time as everybody walks over there, everybody is out of line. So you could start in the beginning you could still end up in the end. It’s not even organised mess. It’s not even that good. It’s just a mess.” 

The woman told The Tribune that at one point, after spending so much time waiting, she had to leave the queue just to eat and drink because of her diabetes, which automatically relegated her to the back of the line. 

“There are no directions, no one telling you, ‘Oh ma’am, let me see your documents, what are you doing today? Oh you should join that line there’,” she added.

“Or even, do you see how these barricades are here? Why can’t the barricades be in a line so you know which line you’re supposed to be in? No order to anything.”

Another customer, Ricardo Trottman, said the registration process had been “utter chaos” since he arrived at the stadium at 8.30am. 

“I know it’s the first day so we do understand that, but communication is the key,” he said. “We just like to know exactly what’s going on. How long do we have to wait, or are we going to have to come back? Can we get served by at least 5 o’clock? Just say something to us.

“They haven’t said anything. We were on one line, they took us from that line and put us on another line. Then took us from that line to bring us back to that line, then took us from that line to bring us back to this line. So it’s just a wait-and-see process. But if we’d have some idea of what’s going on at least we’d be satisfied.”

Responding to criticisms yesterday, Mr Smith was adamant that the process had been “going well” up to that point. However, he hinted at the possibility of tweaking the registration process to make it more user friendly. 

He also told The Tribune that RTD officials will address the possibility of extended hours – “once we have gotten over the hurdle of Monday and Tuesday”.

“We didn’t expect the large crowd, but we have done well at managing that crowd,” he said.

“And we believe at the end of the day everybody will be served. But I think moving forward on Monday we will do some things differently.”

Mr Smith also dismissed assertions that the large turnout had an impact on the efficiency of the registration process. 

“I don’t think it will provide any challenges to the system,” he said. “I think what can happen is that persons who are using the system can get a little bit overwhelmed. But so far in walking around that is not the case. People are really holding their own, doing what is necessary, to ensure that they register as well as licence all of their vehicles and getting out as quickly as they can.”

The RTD’s $8 million automated system eliminates handwritten vehicle information discs,in a bid to streamline the licencing and registration processes. The new electronic system is expected to make it easier for persons to licence their vehicles and put an end to having to register the same vehicle every year.