The beginning of the end for driving licence cards? Provisionals go digital in huge change

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    Transport secretary Grant Shapps announced the plans to ditch physical driving licences as the Department for Transport looks to modernise. In a tweet, he said: “Our transport network will be fairer, greener & more efficient thanks to our exciting new post-EU freedoms.

    “We will introduce digital driving licences – moving provisional cards online, doing away with paper test certificates & bringing MOTs into the modern age.”

    The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is working to create an app for licences that will launch in 2024.

    If successful, full licences could be scrapped altogether, with digital licences becoming the norm.

    This digital driving licence will give customers personalised, easy and secure access to a range of services.

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    “This will ultimately give our customers personalised, easy and secure access to a range of services and allow them more choice in how they transact with us.

    “Our services will be secure, scalable and resilient and we will continue to explore and expand the use of emerging technologies.”

    The DVLA has 49 million driving licence holders on record, as well as 40 million vehicle keepers.

    In the same report, Julie Lennard, the DVLA’s Chief Executive, said drivers “remain at the core of our work and we will focus on using the data we hold to improve the way we work and the services we offer.”

    She continued saying: “We have a relationship with drivers throughout their entire driving life, which for most spans decades and we want to make every customer interaction with us as simple and seamless as possible, as for most it already is.

    “We are committed to continuously improving our services for all of our customers throughout the UK and that is a key focus for this strategy.

    “This will entail improvements to both technology and data that will in turn bring changes both for customers and our staff.”

    However, some driving charities and firms are concerned about the changes.

    Steve Gooding, director of motoring research charity the RAC Foundation, spoke of the benefits and drawbacks of making such a change.

    He said: “These days the one thing drivers are most likely to have with them is their phone, so using it to carry their driver’s licence could be quite handy.

    “The risk is that the more personal data we store on our phones the more tempting a target they become for thieves and hackers.”

    As part of these proposed changes, the DVLA is attempting to become more customer friendly, after a massive backlog of paper driving licence applications.

    Some drivers say they have been waiting for months to receive their documentation.



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