The online services provided by the Road Safety and Transport Authority (RSTA) and Thimphu Thromde are not user friendly according to many people. The service providers are looking for ways to improve their service delivery amid the public outcry.
Although Bhutan has seen significant advancement in technology and its involvement in the service industry, the country is yet to reap the full benefit of the innovations. One of the online platforms commonly used is the Government to Citizens (G2C), an e-government system to improve the efficiency of public service delivery. Services provided by the RSTA and Thimphu Thromde are frequently used by people. They also have direct access to more than 200 government offices via internet or mobile apps these days.
Every day hundreds of people lined up in front of the RSTA office in Thimphu to avail themselves of the services. And more than half return home disgruntled without getting the token for the service. They say if only the online service is reliable they would not be coming and crowding especially when physical distancing is must amid the pandemic.
“We can avail most of the services online but when it comes to the fitness test we have to come here in person and it is inconvenient when there are many people in line,” said Thuji Yonten, a resident of Thimphu.
“My license got suspended for a year in 2018. After the suspension period, I was supposed to get back my license but due to some system lapses, they were not able to issue my license. I have also tried to do it online but with the little education background I have, I wasn’t able to do so,” added Yeshi Wangdi.
However, some people also share that online service of the RSTA is convenient to some extent. They suggest enabling payments for fitness test online too. And according to the RSTA, the authority is looking at other solutions too to smoothen the service.
“Many people are not able to use online services or make payment online that’s why they come here in person. That’s why we see lots of crowd in RSTA offices especially in Thimphu almost every day. We are discussing internally to look for other solutions, for example, we are discussing if people can pay for fitness online together with the registration then they can at their own convenience drive the car to RSTA on a later date and get the fitness certificate after the inspection of the vehicle. If the new solution gets approved then we will be able to cater to the public services conveniently,” said Prem P. Adhikari, the Regional Transport Officer in Thimphu.
To further ease the crowding in the regional office and also to improve their services, the RSTA has also opened a temporary service delivery counter at Changlimithang parking.
Similarly, the office of Thimphu Thromde was overwhelmed with unsatisfied clients after the recent lockdown.
“I came here to pay land tax. I tried doing it online but I couldn’t comprehend it. The rural tax was clear but when it came to urban taxes it was not as clear. So I had to come here personally. And with regard to the payment system, they do not accept Mbob so I will have to come again tomorrow and pay with a cheque,” said Dawa Penjor, a resident of Thimphu.
The Thromde accepts that the online service is inconvenient for the people for now, however, the Thromde will be upgrading its system soon to cater conveniently to the people.
“It’s inconvenient for the people at the moment. When they have done everything, we send an SMS to the client to come to the revenue counter for payment. So they come here to get the documents and they pay in cheque or cash to avail the service. This will be upgraded in a few months’ time, for all the services we are bringing online payments system. And people can either pay through web base or mobile apps. Within a month or two we will be able to do this integration with the financial institution as well as our system which is getting upgraded to a new platform,” said Oma Pati Luitel, a Senior ICT Officer with the Thimphu Thromde.
In order to resolve the late penalty issue for land tax due to the recent lockdown, the Thimphu Thromde has declared 12 days grace period starting from February 1.
Yeshi Dorji
