BRTA licence-seekers deserve better service
The saga of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority's (BRTA) irregularities continues, as does the suffering of citizens who need its services. According to a recent report by Prothom Alo, more than six lakh applicants have yet to receive their driving licences because the road transport authorities are unable to complete the simple task of getting the smart cards printed. As a result, many applicants have been waiting for months—some even for three years—for their licence documents.
The crisis reportedly began when the state agency, under the Awami League administration, invited tenders from companies to print smart cards for driving licences. Insiders say that the road transport ministry along with some top BRTA officials at the time actively tried to award the job to their favoured company, Madras Security Printers (MSP). In doing so, they prolonged the tender bidding process until MSP eventually won. Because of this delay, more than 12 lakh licence applications got stuck in limbo. Moreover, MSP, which signed a five-year contract in July 2021, has been unable to keep up with demand since then. It was supposed to start delivering smart cards within three months, but didn't begin until six months later. By July 2026, MSP is supposed to deliver 40 lakh smart cards, but has only managed to deliver 20 lakh so far. In the meantime, applications for new licences, corrections, and renewals keep piling up.
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What boggles the mind is the previous administration's insistence on awarding the contract to MSP, to the extent that it did not mind leaving licence-seekers in the lurch. To speed up the process, the interim government has decided to replace smart cards with PVC cards for new applicants, which will take less time to print. This ought to relieve some of the pressure, but it's not a good solution for the long term. For one, older applicants will still be issued smart cards. Secondly, smart cards are used worldwide; even our neighbouring countries no longer rely on PVC cards. This situation particularly affects those who are going abroad for employment and need smart cards. Taking advantage of the situation, a "syndicate" has reportedly been taking extra money from licence applicants in the name of expediting the process.
This needs to stop. We urge the government to investigate the BRTA's lack of initiative to resolve the crisis sooner and take appropriate action. Also, rather than reverting to an outdated system, the government should explore options for printing smart cards locally to reduce hassle. Lastly, BRTA needs a major overhaul, as the road transport and bridges adviser has also acknowledged. This organisation has been mired in corruption and irregularities for years; it's time to make it truly service-oriented.
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