Modern Services, Outdated Hours: Can Flexible Timings Benefit Public Services and Traffic Congestions
I am
living in Chandigarh and my wife's driving license is due for renewal this
month.
Just few
months back I got my license renewed from Chandigarh Road Transport Office
(RTO).
The working
of Chandigarh RTO is exceptionally good. At least this is what I experienced
when I got my license renewed.
Trust me I
was expecting a long queue and lot of people wandering around asking for
questions or stationery.
Amazingly,
the fully air-conditioned Chandigarh RTO office had roughly 10 - 15 people in
total, when I was there.
I had
already applied for the license renewal online, and the only thing needed to be
done at the RTO office was the photo click and some signatures.
The first
checkpoint at the Chandigarh RTO was the license renewal window where they
cross checked the details that I had filled in the form with the physical
documents.
It hardly
took 2 - 3 minutes and the person sitting there asked me to go to the room
where the photograph is being clicked.
Just one
person was ahead of me as I walked in the photo taking room. There I signed the
photo and another 2 - 3 minutes were spend there.
I took the
documents back to the same window of license renewal and after few clicks and
cross-checking, the person said to me that my license will reach me in few
days.
Things
happened so smoothly and without hassle that I was shocked a little, and was
wondering if things are done.
For two
minutes I kept sitting there, just to make sure that the the license renewal
procedure is actually complete.
This
experience was complete different from the experience I had when I got my
driving license for the first time.
There is one
problem here; the timing of Chandigarh RTO coincides completely with normal
working hours.
I am sure
there are people who had to take short leave from office to get to the RTO to
get the paper work done.
If only they
can shift the working hours one hour before or one hour after than it will be
easy for working people to reach out to them.
For example,
they make their timings from 8 am to 3 pm or from 12 pm to 7 pm, this way
ordinary working service people will be able to reach them easily.
I am sure
this change of timing will also be accepted by government employees, for they
will be able to take care of their important work that they have in private
organization with this time difference.
Although,
for a person, license renewal is done only once in 10 or 15 years. Still, there
are numerous people who may agree with me on this change of timing.
As a matter
of fact all the government departments that have direct public dealing should
bring this change in their system.
Few days
back I faced this same problem of timing when I had to submit some rent at the
estate office of Chandigarh.
A lot has
been done already to make the process smooth and efficient. If this factor is
also taken care of then I am sure it will be appreciated by everyone.
I
started to write this article to discuss a situation and as I am about to
complete it, one more thought has sprung up in my mind.
Thing is,
with this difference in timing between private and government organizations, if
implemented will also reduce traffic congestion.
This method
can be implemented nationwide and much of the problem of traffic congestion can
be solved.
Imagine a
scenario in Delhi, a place that is struggling to make sense out the several
kilometers and many hour long traffic congestions.
If only the working hours of the government and private employees are changed, I am sure a lot of room will be created on the roads and elsewhere.
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