Punjab govt to introduce new camera-readable license plates

The Excise and Taxation Department and Safe City Project Lahore have decided to introduce a new number plate design, although the final design is yet to be approved by Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The excise department and safe city authorities are all set to generate more revenue through their decision. Last year, the department collected Rs 16 billion in revenue and is expected to collect Rs 18 billion as a result of the recent decision.

The reason for the shift is that cameras installed for the safe city project are unable to read current number plates.

The new number plate design would be easily captured by the 8,000 CCTV cameras placed around the city under the safe city project and will be 325mm by 152mm in size. For motorbikes and rickshaws, the plates will be 220mm by 150mm. Another change is that the new universal plates will only consist of three digits each, instead of four.

Excise and Taxation Department’s senior officer Adeel Amjad said, “The department has sent over 70pc of departmental data to the safe city authorities and the design of the new number plates is also ready.”

Rickshaw and motorcycles are responsible for most traffic the violations in the city, he said. To corroborate his claim he said that security cameras had captured more than 2,000 violations of two and three-wheelers.  The purpose of increasing the size of the number plates is to be able easily read them through cameras and hold offenders responsible for their crimes, he said.

People who violate orders regarding the number plates will be tried under the law and could be sentenced 15 days imprisonment to a whole year.

“From now on, universal number plates will be issued throughout the whole province, but those who have already received computerised plates will be compensated with the universal plates,” the official said. The fee charges will be same for the universal plates as the last time: Rs 1200 for four-wheeled vehicles and Rs 450 for motorbikes and rickshaws.

According to safe city authorities, the e-challan output will increase after the change in license plates.