New | E-tickets for traffic penalties to help data processing

Eight devices to issue electronic tickets for fixed-penalties traffic offences will soon be deployed after a government advisory body endorsed the police’s initiative.

Transport Advisory Council chairman Larry Kwok Lam-kwong said they believed the new devices would reduce the manpower required to insert information onto the police’s server and make records more accurate.

Currently, a policeman writes on a paper ticket manually and another person enters the information into a centralised system. With the new device, the policeman will key in the car’s plate number and the contravention code, and print out a physical ticket at the spot to be put on the car’s windshield. The device will eventually be connected to the server and the information will be uploaded automatically.

Kwok said a six-month pilot project would be launched soon, and the eight devices would be circulated among different districts. At the end of the trial, the police would analyse the devices’ accuracy and efficiency before deciding whether to expand its use.

The police said the e-ticketing trial cost HK$1.4million.