The much hyped "e-ticketing programme" of the Punjab Safe Cities Authority (PSCA) and the City Traffic Police (CTP) Lahore to bring down traffic violations in the provincial capital through this project is yet to be launched officially even after a span of one year.
In December 2016, the PSCA had introduced the Camera Integrated Fining System (CIFS) with an aim to bring down the ever increasing traffic violations on almost all major thoroughfares of the city by issuing fine and warning tickets to license holders who are being caught violating traffic laws by in the cameras.
For the purpose, the PSCA in collaboration with the city police launched a pilot project of "e-ticketing" on The Mall (Chairing Cross) and issued over 1100 automated "warning" tickets to the license holders along with their relevant whereabouts including pictures, dates, nature and area of offence and amount of fine.
But after launching the project on test basis, it came to the light that the CCTV cameras of PSCA are incapable to easily read "fancy or unauthorized" number plates of violating vehicles and issue them fine tickets.
Consequently, by putting onus on unauthorized number plates with an excuse that these are the major hindrances in launching of this project, the authorities initiated a crackdown against the use of fancy and unauthorized number plates and made mandatory the Excise and Taxation (E&T) Department's specified plates for commuters. Sources in the police department told Business Recorder that more than 5,000 traffic violations are being recorded only on Mall Road on daily basis.
"A year is about to end, but the authorities are still indecisive about officially launching the e-ticketing programme in the city," they said. They said it was a much-hyped programme of both the authorities which was considered a solution to all traffic related problems. "But the project is still in doldrums as the authorities are still busy in paper work."
In July, Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Lahore Rai Ejaz Ahmad had told Business Recorder that the e-ticketing programme would be launched by the end of August 2017. Despite repeated attempts, CTO Rai Ejaz Ahmed did not respond to calls and text messages. However, his Public Relation Officer (PRO) Arif Ali Rana confirmed that e-ticketing programme has yet to be launched officially in the city.
Interestingly, the Punjab government had also planned to replicate this system in seven districts of the province including Multan, Bahawalpur, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Faisalabad and Sargodha. In Islamabad, the system was introduced around seven years ago and 2,000 cameras were installed there. For the project of Lahore alone, around 8,000 cameras were to be installed.
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