The days of standing in multiple queues will soon be over for Capetonians renewing driving licences and applying for learner or driving tests, with the introduction of new, automated units that will speed up the application procedure considerably

These units, known as Live Capturing Units (LCUs), will digitally capture applicants’ photographs and fingerprints, eye test results and personal data, including signatures. They comprise a computer, mounted camera, lights, fingerprint reader, signature pad, scanner printer and customised software (including eye-testing programmes).

The live capture of an applicant's biometric features makes the data tamper-proof, preventing fraudulent changes after the capturing process.

The whole procedure will take between five and seven minutes – currently about the same time it takes to complete the paper application form.

Payment will still be made at another counter.

The first LCU has been installed at the Hillstar driving licensing and testing centre, and once all teething problems have been resolved, the system will be installed in all 16 driving licence testing centres in Cape Town.

For a full list of all testing centres, click here.