After almost 20 months, Hanoi now leads among Vietnam's 63 provinces and cities with the highest number of driving license applications submitted online.

Driving license application process at the one-stop shop counter of the Hanoi Department of Transport.

According to Hanoi transport department, by the end of September, more than 6,000 applications for license renewal had been submitted to the department through the digital platform.

The department had processed and approved more than 5,100 applications while rejecting about 106 others.

Submitting the license renewal application in person used to be the most challenging and daunting undertaking for both the department and the people.

It was time-consuming for drivers to complete all the administrative procedures and wait in line for hours to take the physical and mental tests.

It often took a driver a couple of hours, or worse, half a day, to stand in line. Once the application was submitted, the driver would not receive his license until two weeks later.

On February 17, 2022, the Hanoi People's Committee inaugurated a citywide e-platform for population identity verification, which aims to accelerate the country's digital transformation progress.

The plan aims to digitize all administrative tasks, including the issuance of new driver's licenses, through a shared online platform among all local departments and government agencies.

Drivers are encouraged to apply for driving licenses through the city's public services portal. The move is expected to ease the workload of government officials and employees, improve transparency, fight corruption, and save costs and time for citizens.

For people's convienience

For the people, the online platform has saved a lot of time. Instead of driving back and forth to the transportation department offices, it now takes them only 20 minutes to fill out all the forms and submit their application.

"I decided to submit my files to the city's electronic government platform because I was too busy. After five days, I received my renewed license," Nguyen Van Son, a resident of Thanh Xuan District, told The Hanoi Times.

The application can be submitted on a smartphone, and it only takes a few days for the license to be delivered to the driver, he said.

"It usually costs a driver a total of VND165,000 (US$6.80), including delivery costs. The online platform makes it easier for me to renew my license," Son said.

When Nguyen Thi Nga, a resident of Dong Da District, took a morning off work to arrive at the transport department office, she saw many people waiting in line for their turn to submit applications.

"I decided to go through the online application instructions and then complete the application on the platform. It took me about 20 minutes, and all I had to do was wait for the new license to be delivered," she said.

People only need to complete the health check in person, while all tasks are done on the computer or smartphone, which is easy and convenient, Nga said.

"Online administrative services have improved government performance, saved people time and money, and prevented corruption," she said.

"Renewing our driver's license used to take a lot of time. We had to submit the expired license, so we were without a license to drive because our renewed licenses were still being processed," said Tran Ngoc Cuong, a full-time driver from Ba Dinh District.

Now that the process is understandable and straightforward, and the system is working properly, full-time drivers like Cuong are still able to work while waiting for their renewed licenses to arrive because they can keep their expired permits.