The Traffic Management Bureau of the Qingdao Municipal Gov’t is now handling administrative issues related to driver licenses and car license plates online on Taobao.com, one of the biggest e-commerce websites in China. The move is meant to ease the workload and long lines at physical offices of the bureau.
More info on Qingdao’s foray onto Taobao:
People who want to renew their driver’s license can now do so with just a few clicks, after a government department moved part of its operations online.
The online shop on Taobao.com, a major shopping website in China, was opened by the vehicle management department of the Qingdao Traffic Management Bureau on Monday.
Internet users can apply for replacements of their driving licenses for a variety of vehicles, as well as handle other transport-related affairs on the site.
Customers are charged for the cost and delivery fee of the driving license or number plate, according to the website.
Chen Lei, a spokesman for the vehicle management department, said on Thursday that the launch of the online shop was inspired by the success of the department’s micro blog.
Qingdao Cheguan, the department’s micro blog on Sina Weibo, opened in 2011. It had nearly 84,000 followers as of Thursday.
Those micro bloggers, who are mostly younger people, are potentially more interested in online shopping, which made the department’s online project possible, Chen said.
Micro blogging website Sina Weibo and Alibaba, the parent company of Taobao.com, allow user accounts to share information on both platforms.
Chen added the vehicle management department will provide more online services in the future should there be more demand for them.
From Global Times:
The vehicle management administration of Qingdao, Shandong Province, has become China’s first government department to set up a store on the e-commerce platform taobao.com.
The store, which opened to business on a trial basis on Tuesday, had seen some 50 deals made as of Thursday afternoon. Meanwhile, five buyers also graded the service after receiving the goods by giving it a five-star rating, the top score.
Local drivers can use the store to replace lost driving licenses and license plates and annual license renewal verifications without having to go in person.
“Our administration opened a Sina Weibo account last year, and soon attracted 80,000 followers, most of whom are online shoppers,” Chen Lei, chief of the agency’s secretariat division, told the Global Times, adding that many Web users are seeking more flexible ways, for example, online, to apply for new licenses.
Chen also said the range of its online business may be expanded.
Buyers who apply for a missing driving license have to fill in a form, take a photo of their ID card, car and themselves holding the ID card, then send all those files to the administration’s staff via the platform’s online chat application, and pay the money.
After verification, the administration will make the license and deliver it back through a courier company.
“We will strictly review the files in order to protect the legal rights of Web users,” said Chen, adding that all the charges are in accordance with the standard approved by the price-setting authorities.
Relevant Links:
Qingdao Municipal Gov Official Website (English)
Chris
Isn’t it a fine piece of reporting? Both articles didn’t mention the Taobao address….
Steven
Chris I tried finding it on Taobao, really, but my Chinese reading isn’t that great, and maybe I was searching incorrectly. Yes it was shoddy reporting all around, sorry I couldn’t provide that web page 🙁