On Saturday, September 4, Irembo, a technology company that delivers services and innovative digital solutions and help citizens access government services efficiently, launched a revamped registration for driving tests service which will allow users to register for driving tests anytime they want.

The improved experience is introduced with the re-opening of this service that enables citizens of age who are eager to be on the road, to comply with road traffic’s primary requirement – the possession of a valid driver’s license.

According to Leila Rwagasana, Director of Partnership at Irembo, this new feature has a simpler way to view the available dates to sit for the test and allows the users to schedule their tests ahead of time.

"We have worked with the Rwanda National Police to ensure the users have access to schedules spanning throughout the year. They can now select a future date making it easier to prepare and get ready for the exam day,” she said.

"Previously, only a maximum of 3 months of slots was available making it hard to serve as many people as possible.”

Leila Rwagasana.

Talking about the new feature of a calendar view, Rwagasana said that it will enable the users to easily see all active dates to choose from, adding that beyond the current month, the user will also be able to navigate through future months and find a suitable date.

This, she continued, will considerably increase visibility and ease the user’s ability to select from a wider range of days in the shortest amount of time possible.  

Asked why Irembo made these changes, she said that before, the service would be open for a specific period of time and would offer a few days for users to register, adding that the service was ‘first come, first serve’ basis where users would log in into the system and try to register for available slots before they are taken up by others.

According to her, this feature also provides a fairer ground for all applicants.

"A citizen is now allowed to hold one test appointment at a time, eliminating cases of individuals booking multiple slots while reducing the next person’s chance to get a slot,” she said.

"With an open schedule throughout the year, in case of failure, everyone still stands a chance to re-apply to the next convenient and available time and centre.”

Those who lost IDs can still get their license

According to Rwagasana, before introducing this feature, applicants who had lost their IDs in the process between registering for driving licence’s test and passing the exam would certainly be blocked to get their licences, whether driving licences or provisional driving licences.

This, she continued, was because their lost IDs were linked to their details and they had to physically go through the process of applying for new IDs as well as requesting Rwanda National Police and National Identification Agency (NIDA) to update their former details.

She added, "That would limit them from getting a driving licence, but today, the service issuers will automatically see their new details in the system hence providing them with the licence.”

According to her, this new feature is a pilot phase that will run for two weeks so that the company can assess the performance.

"We are looking at multiple system dependencies. So, in the pilot phase, we basically want to monitor how these features will work and ensure that we are delivering the best experience,” she said.