Special arrangement for renewal of vehicle and driving licences adopted again

The special licensing arrangement for the renewal of expiring and expired vehicle and driving licences for the 2001 Budget Day has proved very effective in avoiding the problem of long queues at licensing offices during the pre-budget days and will be adopted again this year.

Announcing the results of the review on the special licensing arrangement at a press conference today (February 25), Commissioner for Transport, Mr Robert Footman, said: "With the introduction of the special arrangement in 2001, the number of vehicle and driving licences renewed during the three days before the announcement of the Budget was about 8,800, more or less in line with the normal level. This represented a significant reduction from over 54 000 renewal transactions processed in 2000.

"There were no abnormal queues, and the arrangement was well received by the public".

In view of the satisfactory results and the effectiveness of the special arrangement, it will be adopted again this year.

Details of the arrangement for this year are as follow:

(a) All vehicle licences eligible for renewal on or before Budget Day (March 6, 2002), i.e. those with expiry dates falling on or before July 5, 2002 and for vehicles registered at the time of renewal, can be renewed at the present rate, whether for four months or 12 months, at any time up to and including July 5, 2002.

(b) All full Hong Kong driving licences and driving instructor's licences eligible for renewal on or before Budget Day (March 6, 2002), i.e. those with expiry dates falling on or before 5 July 2002 and those which have expired for less than three years at the time of renewal up to July 5, 2002, can be renewed at the present rate at any time up to and including July 5, 2002.

The arrangement above applies only to the renewal of expiring and expired vehicle licences, full driving licences and driving instructor's licences. It does not apply to any other licensing services.

Eligible licence holders will not need to rush to Transport Department counters to have their licences renewed on speculation that those licence fees may be increased in the coming Budget.

"The arrangement is solely made to deal with the problem of long queues. The contents of the Budget are a separate question on which the department has no information," Mr Footman stressed.

At present, applications for renewal of vehicle and driving licences can be made on-line, through personal computers and public kiosks under the Electronic Service Delivery scheme. Applications may also be made by post. The public is encouraged to renew their licences through these channels.

End/Monday, February 25, 2002