No decision made to cancel old driving licences – Ministry Secretary

New system to update information for two million driving licence holders:
E-Driving Licence to be introduced in 2025 First Half :
Train tickets can be purchased through www.pravesha.lk:

Transport and Highways Ministry Secretary Ranjith Rubasinghe clarified that reports claiming a decision has been made to cancel all un-updated driving licences are entirely false and that no such decision has been taken.

He also revealed that a new system will be introduced to update the information of nearly two million driving licence holders who have not yet updated their licences. The entire update processes are expected to be completed by the end of this year. Transport and Highways Ministry Secretary Ranjith Rubasinghe, shared these remarks during a press conference at the Presidential Media Centre held yesterday (23). Secretary Rubasinghe also noted that since the issuance of the first driving licence in Sri Lanka in the 1960s, around 12.3 million driving licences have been issued.

The Ministry Secretary explaining further said:“The first driving licence in Sri Lanka was issued in the 1960s. Since then, around 12.3 million licences have been issued. Licences from the 1960s do not have an expiry date, allowing them to be used indefinitely without renewal. As a result, the information for about two million license holders remains out-dated.

The digitization of all transport sector services is currently underway. Procurement for the digitization of black marks and on-the-spot fines is nearing completion. Starting January 1, 2025, fines and on-the-spot penalties will be managed through this new system, which will require updated information for all driving licenses.

“We will soon implement a new method to update the information of nearly two million driving licence holders who have not yet updated their details. This process will not require new medical records or a visit to the Motor Traffic Department. We aim to complete this update for all license holders by the end of this year. It is important to note that no new driving licences will be issued, nor will existing licenses be cancelled. Reports suggesting otherwise are entirely false.

Additionally, we plan to introduce the e-Driving Licence within the first six months of 2025.Recently, due to a shortage of cards, we issued temporary driving licences to around 800,000 individuals.To date, only 91,000 of these have received their cards.We anticipate issuing the remaining cards within the next two months. Since last year, about 200,000 new driving licences have been issued, and all of these will be processed before the end of this year. Normal card issuance for new licences will resume as usual next year.The issuance of train tickets online has been effective since yesterday (22). Passengers can now purchase digital train tickets through the website www.pravesha.lk eliminating the need to wait in queue. Tickets will still be available at counters for those who prefer to purchase them in person.

We plan to introduce this online system for season tickets before the end of this year. Additionally, new methods for train seat reservations and goods transportation will be rolled out over the next three months”.

Motor Traffic Commissioner General Nishantha Anuruddha Weerasinghe also attended this event.

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