NSW announces digital mobility initiatives

The NSW Government has announced a series of initiatives aimed at improving service delivery through digital mobility.

The government has announced plans to introduce legislation to parliament in the next few weeks that will enable a phased state-wide rollout of digital driver licences.

The licences, which will be made available through the Service NSW app, will be the first of their kind in Australia.

They will allow NSW residents to store their driver’s licence in their smartphones to use in everyday scenarios such as providing proof of identity or during roadside police checks. Drivers who opt in to the program will still be provided a physical licence but will not be required to carry it with them.

A trial in Dubbo involving 1400 drivers resulted in a customer satisfaction rating of 83%.

Meanwhile, Transport NSW has developed an app designed to allow rail travellers to choose a carriage based on how full a train’s carriages are.

The app uses the average weight of a NSW train passenger to determine the occupancy of each carriage as the train doors close, and display this information in real time. The app will be available for trips on Waratah trains.

Finally, the state’s consumer watchdog is encouraging residents to start receiving their bills electronically to save money on unnecessary fees and help increase the adoption of paperless business transactions.

NSW Fair Trading Commissioner Rose Webb said many residents may not realise they are being charged extra to receive bills in the mail.

“These days, a lot of Australian businesses, from utility providers to insurance companies, can charge consumers a fee to receive their bills in the post. This can really add up over the year, especially for people on low or fixed incomes,” she said.

“These fees can be up to $2.65 per bill and are designed to cover printing and mailing your bill; however, most people don’t know there are ways to avoid this.”

Webb noted that exemptions to paper bill charges are available to people without internet access, seniors, concession holders and those on income support.

Pictured: The new train app. Courtesy NSW Government.

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