hahzeb Khan, a human resource assistant, has recently started using the ride-hailing services for commuting to work as well as for travelling around the city. Not possessing a driving licence, he’s scared he might get caught driving and detained.

Khan’s decision to go for the likes of InDrive and Yango was prompted by an encounter with the traffic police on Jail Road, about two weeks ago. He says he narrowly averted landing at a police lockup.

When asked why he does not have a driving licence, he tells a tale that would resonate with thousands of Lahoris today, beginning with his ordeal at the Police Khidmat Markaz in Liberty Market where he witnessed endlessly long queues of hopefuls. He says he went back to the centre the next day, only to find the same situation. “I’ve given up — for now at least,” he declares.

Captain Mustansar Feroze (retired), who was recently transferred from the City Traffic Office, explains: “A driving licence is a necessary document, but a lot of people never took it seriously till about a month ago. Once a crackdown on unlicensed and underage drivers was launched in the city, 7.3 million vehicles were found registered [in Lahore], while only 1.3 million people possessed a valid driving licence.”

Of course, it’s a different scenario altogether today. People have been queuing up at the licence centres in the city with applications. The centres present scenes of chaos. On the roads, the fear of being caught is palpable. What began as a random stop-and-search operation has led to the apprehension of many mostly teenage and unlicensed drivers of motorbikes and cars. In some cases, the vehicles were confiscated. There was news of FIRs being registered against the absconders, too.

In order to deal with the growing number of complaints from applicants with respect to the long queues at the licence centres, the caretaker chief minister offered that those in possession of a licence token would be granted a three-day immunity from a violation ticket.

But that was only a temporary solution. A more permanent way out was to go digital. The next we saw, the government had launched an app in order to streamline the process of licence acquisition. The surge in demand for driving licences vis-à-vis the chaos at the centres had prompted the action. Now the citizens could not only apply for their learner’s permit but also for renewal — online, from the comfort of their homes.

It looked all set to be a glowing success. Ammar Yasir, the spokesman for Punjab Information Technology Board, spoke of a significant uptick in the issuance of regular driving licences, with a staggering 10,000 licences being processed on a daily basis across the Punjab.

But technology has its own set of issues. Overwhelming online traffic led to the website/ portal crashing and sessions expiring multiple times. The applicants were left grumbling about the utility of the exercise. The social media was abuzz with the public complaining about their mobiles/ computer systems experiencing incessant downtimes.

As per Ammar Yasir, the spokesman for PITB, the website crashed “due to an unprecedented influx of visitors to the app, and a few technical glitches. But we’ve now increased the server’s capacity and also fixed the bugs.”

“I fed all my details in the online form repeatedly, but it wouldn’t process,” says Shahzad Asalm.

Another user complains of the app not acknowledging his credentials for a fresh licence. He says it kept flashing the message, “A learner’s licence already exists.”

According to Yasir, this happened “due to an unprecedented influx of visitors to the app, and a few technical glitches. But we’ve now increased the server’s capacity and fixed the bugs.”

PITB chairman Faisal Yousaf claims that the citizens are benefitting from the newly introduced Driving Licence Issuance Management System (DLIMS 2.0). “They no longer have to bother visiting government offices or waiting in long queues. The DLIMS web portal affords them great ease,” he says.

“The online payment option is an added facility. As a result, you can acquire a learner’s licence within minutes.”

he process is simple. Start by searching “DLIMS” on Google, or directly visit dlims.punjab.gov.pk. This will lead you to a user-friendly application form where you will need to create an account by providing all the basic details such as your full name and the national identity card number.

Families can use a single account to obtain learner’s licences for all members.

Once they’re logged in, they will need to click on the “New Learner’s,” provide the information sought, and hit “Submit.” Upon submission, a 17-digit PSID code is generated for the learner’s licence fee (Rs 60/-). This code can be used to make the payment through online banking or ATM machines.

Following the successful processing of the payment, the learner’s driving licence is emailed to the applicant. They have the option to take printout of the same, or flash it on their phone screens when requested.

When asked as to what second-time applicants such as Shahzad Aslam should do, Yasir said that starting December 17, the citizens will be able to avail online facility for licence renewal as well as international driving licence. From December 25 onwards, they will be able to use the web portal/ app to apply for regular driving licence too, the PITB spokesperson added.

The writer is a media veteran interested in politics, consumer rights and entrepreneurship