DVLA, the Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency, is struggling to get the UK’s drivers to renew their photocard driving licence online.
It said that drivers not using the online service are collectively missing out on savings of £2.3 million.
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, 23% of the two million licence renewal applications that drivers had to make between April 2020 and May 2021 were done via the post or the Post Office network.
“Our online services are the quickest and easiest way to deal with DVLA, and customers usually receive their driving and vehicle documents in just five days,” said Julie Lennard, DVLA chief executive, in a statement.
Renewing a driving licence photocard online is cheaper than the traditional paper methods. Online renewal is £14 via GOV.UK or £17 via post. An online renewal is guaranteed within five days, and the renewal process can be tracked.
Driving licence photocards have to be renewed every 10 years, and drivers receive a renewal notice.
Motor insurance aggregator Quotezone released research in April 2021, which demonstrates that the average age of a learner driver has risen to 26 years old. Digital natives are delaying getting behind the wheel compared to previous generations.
In October 2021, DVLA announced a two-year £7 million deal with Made Tech to move its technology infrastructure to open source and the cloud.
Image from iStock, Slonme
